THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

INTRODUCTION

“In grandness of conception and in the power with which a mass of material is subordinated to great ideas no writing in either Testament, dealing with a historical theme, is to be compared with Matthew.”

—Theodor Zahn.

I. Unique Place in the Canon†

Matthew’s Gospel is the perfect bridge between the Old and the New Testaments. Its very first words throw us back to the forefather of the OT people of God, Abraham, and to the first great king of Israel, David. In its emphasis, strong Jewish flavor, its many quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures, and its position at the head of the NT books, Matthew is the logical place to start the Christian message to the world.

Matthew has long held this first position in the order of the four Gospels. This is because until very modern times, it was universally believed to be the first Gospel written. Also, Matthew’s clear, orderly style made it most suitable for congregational reading. Hence it was the most popular Gospel, sometimes vying for that place with John.

It is not necessary to believe that Matthew was the first Gospel written in order to be orthodox. However, the earliest Christians were nearly all of Jewish extraction, and there were many thousands of them. Meeting the needs of the first Christians first does seem quite logical.

II. Authorship

The external evidence is ancient and universal that Matthew the tax collector, also called Levi, wrote the First Gospel. Since he was not a prominent member of the apostolic band it would be strange to attribute the First Gospel to him if indeed he had nothing to do with it.

Besides the ancient document known as the “Didache” (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), Justin Martyr, Dionysius of Corinth, Theophilus of Antioch, and Athenagoras, the Athenian quote the Gospel as authentic. Eusebius, the church historian, quotes Papias as saying that “Matthew composed the Logia in the Hebrew language, and everyone interpreted them as he was able.” Irenaeus, Pantaenus, and Origen basically agree with this. “Hebrew” is widely thought to mean the dialect of Aramaic used by the Hebrews in our Lord’s time, as the word is used in the NT. But what are the “Logia”? Usually this Greek word means “oracles,” as the OT contains the oracles of God. It cannot mean that in Papias’ statement. There are three main views on his statement: (1) It refers to the Gospel of Matthew as such. That is, Matthew wrote an Aramaic edition of his Gospel especially to win the Jews to Christ and edify Hebrew Christians, and only later did a Greek edition appear. (2) It refers to sayings of Jesus only, which later became incorporated into his Gospel. (3) It refers to testimonia, (i.e., citations of OT Scriptures to show that Jesus is the Messiah). Views 1 and 2 are more likely than view 3.

The Greek of Matthew does not read like a mere translation, but such a widespread tradition (with no early dissent) must have some factual basis. Tradition says that Matthew preached for fifteen years in Palestine and then left to evangelize in foreign parts. It is possible that about A.D. 45 he left behind for the Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah a first draft of his Gospel in Aramaic (or just the discourses of Christ), and later made a Greek edition for universal use. A similar thing was done by Matthew’s contemporary, Josephus. This Jewish historian made an Aramaic first draft of his Jewish Wars and then the final form of the book in Greek.

The internal evidence of the First Gospel does fit well with a devout Jew who loved the OT and was gifted as a careful writer and editor. As a civil servant of Rome, Matthew would have to be proficient in both the language of his people (Aramaic) and of the ruling authorities. (The Romans used Greek, not Latin, in the East.) The numerical details, parables regarding money, and the monetary terms all fit in with a tax collector. So does the concise, orderly style. Goodspeed, a nonconservative scholar, accepted the Matthaean authorship of this Gospel partly from this corroborating internal evidence.

In spite of such universal external evidence and favorable internal evidence, most nonconservative scholars reject the traditional view that Matthew the tax collector wrote this book. They do so on two main grounds.

First of all, assuming that Mark was the first Gospel written (taught as “Gospel truth” in many circles today), how could an apostle and eyewitness use so much of Mark’s material (93% of Mark occurs also in other Gospels)? To answer this, first of all, it is not proven that Mark was first. Ancient testimony says Matthew was first, and since the early Christians were nearly all Jewish, this makes a great deal of sense. But even if we accept the so-called Marcan priority (and many conservatives do so), Matthew could have recognized that Mark’s work was largely the reminiscences of the dynamic Simon Peter, Matthew’s fellow-apostle, as early church tradition maintains (see Introduction to Mark).

The second argument against the book being by Matthew (or any eyewitness) is that it lacks vivid details. Mark, who no one claims witnessed Christ’s ministry, has colorful details that suggest he was there. How could an eyewitness write so matter-of-factly? Perhaps the personality of a tax collector explains it quite well. In order to have room for more of our Lord’s discourses, Levi could have cut down on needless details. This would especially be so if Mark wrote first and Matthew saw that Peter’s first-hand reminiscences were well represented.

III. Date

If the widespread belief that Matthew made an Aramaic first edition of his Gospel (or at least of the sayings of Jesus) is so, a date for that of A.D. 45, fifteen years after the Ascension, would fit in with ancient tradition. He could have brought out the fuller, canonical Gospel in Greek in 50 or 55, or even later.

The view that the Gospel must have been written after the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) rests largely on disbelief in Christ’s ability to predict that future event in detail, and other rationalistic theories that ignore or deny divine inspiration.

IV. Background and Theme

Matthew was a young man when Jesus called him. A Jew by birth, and a tax collector by training and practice, he forsook all to follow Christ. One of his many compensations was that he became one of the twelve apostles. Another was that he was chosen as the writer of what we know as the First Gospel. It is generally believed that Matthew was the same as Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27).

In his Gospel, Matthew sets out to show that Jesus is the long-expected Messiah of Israel, the only lawful Claimant to the throne of David.

The book does not profess to be a complete narrative of the life of Christ. It begins with His genealogy and early years, then jumps to the beginning of His public ministry when He was about thirty. Guided by the Holy Spirit, Matthew selects those aspects of the Savior’s life and ministry which attest Him as God’s Anointed One (that is what Messiah and Christ mean). The book moves toward a climax: the trial, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus. And in that climax, of course, is laid the foundation for man’s salvation. That is why the book is called a Gospel—not so much because it sets forth the way by which sinful people may receive salvation, but rather because it describes the sacrificial work of Christ by which salvation was made possible.

The Believers Bible Commentary is not intended to be exhaustive or technical, but rather to stimulate independent study and meditation. And most of all it is aimed at creating in the reader’s heart an intense longing for the return of the King.

So even I, and with a heart more burning,

So even I, and with a hope more sweet,

Groan for the hour, O Christ! of Thy returning,

Faint for the flaming of Thine advent feet.

—from St. Paul, by F. W. H. Myers

OUTLINE

I. GENEALOGY AND BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH-KING (Chap. 1)

II. EARLY YEARS OF THE MESSIAH-KING (Chap. 2)

III. PREPARATIONS FOR THE MESSIAH’S MINISTRY AND HIS INAUGURATION (Chaps. 3, 4)

IV. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM (Chaps. 5–7)

V. THE MESSIAH’S MIRACLES OF POWER AND GRACE, AND VARYING REACTIONS TO THEM (8:1—9:34)

VI. APOSTLES OF THE MESSIAH-KING SENT FORTH TO ISRAEL (9:35—10:42)

VII. INCREASING OPPOSITION AND REJECTION (Chaps. 11, 12)

VIII. THE KING ANNOUNCES A NEW INTERIM FORM OF THE KINGDOM DUE TO ISRAEL’S REJECTION (Chap. 13)

IX. THE MESSIAH’S UNWEARIED GRACE MET BY MOUNTING HOSTILITY (14:1—16:12)

X. THE KING PREPARES HIS DISCIPLES (16:13—17:27)

XI. THE KING INSTRUCTS HIS DISCIPLES (Chaps. 18–20)

XII. PRESENTATION AND REJECTION OF THE KING (Chaps. 21–23)

XIII. THE KING’S OLIVET DISCOURSE (Chaps. 24, 25)

XIV. THE KING’S PASSION AND DEATH (Chaps. 26, 27)

XV. THE KING’S TRIUMPH (Chap. 28)

COMMENTARY

I. GENEALOGY AND BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH-KING (Chap. 1)

A. The Genealogy of Jesus Christ (1:1–17)

A casual reading of the NT may cause a person to wonder why it begins with something as seemingly dull as a family tree. One might conclude that there is little significance to be drawn from this catalog of names and, thus, skip over it to where the action begins.

However, the genealogy is indispensable. It lays the foundation for all that follows. Unless it can be shown that Jesus is a legal descendant of David through the royal line, it is impossible to prove that He is the Messiah-King of Israel. Matthew begins his account where he must—with the documentary evidence that Jesus inherited the legal right to the throne of David through His stepfather, Joseph.

This genealogy traces the legal descent of Jesus as King of Israel; the genealogy in Luke’s Gospel traces His lineal descent as Son of David. Matthew’s genealogy follows the royal line from David through his son, Solomon, the next king; Luke’s genealogy follows the blood line from David through another son, Nathan. This genealogy concludes with Joseph, of whom Jesus was the adopted Son; the genealogy in Luke 3 probably traces the ancestry of Mary, of whom Jesus was the real Son.

A millennium earlier, God had made an unconditional agreement with David, promising him a kingdom that would last forever and a perpetually ruling line (Ps. 89:4, 36, 37). That covenant is now fulfilled in Christ: He is legal heir to the throne of David through Joseph and the actual seed of David through Mary. Because He lives forever, His kingdom will last forever and He will reign forever as David’s greater Son. Jesus united in His Person the only two bases for claims to the throne of Israel (the legal and the lineal); since He still lives, there can be no other claimant.

1:1–15 The formula the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham is similar to the expression in Genesis 5:1: “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam.” Genesis introduces the first Adam; Matthew, the last Adam. The first Adam was head of the first, or physical, creation. Christ, as the last Adam, is Head of the new, or spiritual, creation.

The subject of this Gospel is Jesus Christ. The name Jesus presents Him as Jehovah-Savior;1 the title Christ (“Anointed”), as the long awaited Messiah of Israel. The title Son of David is associated with the roles of both Messiah and King in the OT. The title Son of Abraham presents our Lord as the One who is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises made to the progenitor of the Hebrew people.

The genealogy is divided into three historical sections: from Abraham to Jesse, from David to Josiah, and from Jeconiah to Joseph. The first section leads up to David; the second covers the kingdom period; the third preserves the record of royal descent during the exile (586 B.C. and following).

There are many interesting features in this register. For example, in this paragraph, four women are mentioned: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (she who had been the wife of Uriah). Since women are seldom mentioned in eastern genealogical tables, the inclusion of these women is all the more astonishing in that two of them were harlots (Tamar and Rahab), one had committed adultery (Bathsheba), and two were Gentiles (Rahab and Ruth). Their inclusion in Matthew’s introduction is perhaps a subtle suggestion that the coming of Christ would bring salvation to sinners, grace to Gentiles, and that in Him, barriers of race and sex would be torn down.

Of interest too is the mention of a king named Jeconiah. In Jeremiah 22:30 God pronounced a curse on this man:

Thus says the LORD:

“Write this man down as childless,

A man who shall not prosper in his days;

For none of his descendants shall prosper,

Sitting on the throne of David,

And ruling anymore in Judah.”

If Jesus had been the real son of Joseph, He would have come under this curse. Yet He had to be the legal son of Joseph in order to inherit the rights to the throne of David. The problem was solved by the miracle of the virgin birth: Jesus was the legal heir to the throne through Joseph. He was the real Son of David through Mary. The curse on Jeconiah did not fall on Mary or her children since she did not descend from Jeconiah.

1:16 Of whom in English could be construed as referring to both Joseph and Mary. However, in the original Greek, whom is singular and in the feminine gender, thus indicating that Jesus was born of Mary, but not of Joseph. But in addition to these interesting features of the genealogy, mention must also be made of the difficulties which it presents.

1:17 Matthew draws special attention to the fact that there are three sections of fourteen generations each. However, we know from the OT that certain names are missing from his list. For example, between Joram and Uzziah (v. 8), Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah reigned as kings (see 2 Kings. 8–14; 2 Chron. 21–25).

The genealogies of Matthew and Luke seem to overlap in mentioning two names: Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (Matt. 1:12, 13; Luke 3:27). It is strange that the ancestry of Joseph and Mary should merge in these two men, and separate again. The difficulty is increased when we notice that both Gospels follow Ezra 3:2 in listing Zerubbabel as the son of Shealtiel, whereas in 1 Chronicles 3:19 he is listed as the son of Pedaiah.

A third difficulty is that Matthew counts twenty-seven generations from David to Jesus, while Luke gives forty-two. Even though the evangelists are outlining different family trees, it still seems odd that there should be such a difference in the number of generations.

What attitude should the Bible student take toward these difficulties and seeming discrepancies? First, our foundational premise is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Therefore, it cannot contain errors. Second, it is infinite because it reflects the infinity of the Godhead. We can understand the fundamental truths of the Word, but we can never fully comprehend all there is in it.

So, our approach to these difficulties leads us to conclude that the problem lies in our lack of knowledge rather than in the Bible’s fallibility. Bible problems should challenge us to study and search for the answers. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Prov. 25:2).

Careful research by historians and excavations by archaeologists have not been able to demonstrate that the statements of the Bible are false. What seem to us like difficulties and contradictions all have reasonable explanations, and these explanations are filled with spiritual significance and profit.

B. Jesus Christ Is Born of Mary (1:18–25)

1:18 The birth of Jesus Christ was different from any of the births mentioned in the genealogy. There we found the repeated formula: “A begot B.” But now we have the record of a birth without a human father. The facts surrounding this miraculous conception are stated with dignity and simplicity. Mary had been promised in marriage to Joseph, but the wedding had not yet taken place. In NT times, betrothal was a form of engagement (but more binding than engagement today) and it could be broken only by divorce. Although an engaged couple did not live together until the marriage ceremony, unfaithfulness on the part of the betrothed was treated as adultery and punishable by death.

During the time of her betrothal, the Virgin Mary became pregnant by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. An angel had previously announced this mysterious event to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). A cloud of suspicion and scandal hung over Mary. In all of human history there had never been a virgin birth. When people saw an unwed woman who was pregnant, they had only one possible explanation.

1:19 Even Joseph did not yet know the true explanation of Mary’s condition. He might have been indignant at his fiancée on two counts: First, her apparent unfaithfulness to him; and second, though innocent, he would almost inevitably be accused of complicity. His love for Mary and desire for justice led him to decide to break the betrothal by a quiet divorce. He wished to avoid the public disgrace which normally accompanied such an action.

1:20 While this gentle and deliberate man was mapping his strategy to protect Mary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The salutation, “Joseph, son of David,” was doubtless designed to stir up the consciousness of his royal pedigree and to prepare him for the unusual advent of Israel’s Messiah-King. He should have no misgivings about marrying Mary. Any suspicions concerning her purity were groundless. Her pregnancy was a miracle of the Holy Spirit.

1:21 The angel then revealed the unborn Child’s sex, name, and mission. Mary would bear a Son. He was to be named JESUS, (which means “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah, the Savior”). True to His Name, He would save His people from their sins. This Child of destiny was Jehovah Himself, visiting earth to save people from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and eventually from the very presence of sin.

1:22 As Matthew recorded these events, he realized that a new era had dawned in the history of God’s dealings with the human race. The words of a messianic prophecy, long dormant, had now sprung to life. Isaiah’s cryptic prophecy was now fulfilled in Mary’s Child: So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Matthew claims divine inspiration for the words of Isaiah—the Lord had spoken by the prophet at least 700 years before Christ.

1:23 The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 included the foretelling of a unique birth (“Behold, the virgin shall conceive”), the sex of the Child (“and bear a Son”), and the name of the child (“and [she] shall call His name Immanuel”). Matthew adds the explanation that Immanuel means God with us. There is no record of Christ ever being called “Immanuel” while on earth; He was always called “Jesus.” However, the meaning of the name Jesus (see above on v. 21) implies the presence of God with us. Immanuel might also be a designation for Christ which will be used primarily in His Second Advent.

1:24 As a result of the angel’s intervention, Joseph abandoned his plan to divorce Mary. He continued to recognize their betrothal until Jesus’ birth, after which he married her.

1:25 The teaching that Mary remained a virgin all of her life is disproved by the consummation of their marriage mentioned in this verse. Other references which indicate that Mary had children by Joseph are Matthew 12:46; 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3; John 7:3, 5; Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:5; and Galatians 1:19.

In taking Mary as his wife, Joseph also took her Child as his adopted Son. This is how Jesus became legal heir to the throne of David. In obedience to the angelic visitor, he called the Baby’s name Jesus.

Thus the Messiah-King was born. The Eternal One entered time. The Omnipotent became a tiny Infant. The Lord of glory veiled that glory in a human body, and “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

II. EARLY YEARS OF THE MESSIAH-KING (Chap. 2)

A. Wise Men Come to Worship the King (2:1–12)

2:1, 2 It is easy to be confused about the chronology of the events surrounding Christ’s birth. While verse 1 may appear to indicate that Herod tried to kill Jesus during Mary and Joseph’s stay in the stable at Bethlehem, the combined evidence points to a time one or two years later. Matthew says in verse 11 that the wise men saw Jesus in a house. The order by Herod to execute all male children under two years old (v. 16) also is an indication of the passage of an unspecified period of time since the royal birth.

Herod the Great was a descendant of Esau and, therefore, a traditional enemy of the Jews. He was a convert to Judaism, but his conversion was perhaps politically motivated. It was toward the close of his reign that wise men from the East came in search of the King of the Jews. These men might have been pagan priests whose ritual centered around the elements of nature. Because of their knowledge and predictive powers, they were often chosen as counselors to kings. We do not know where they lived in the East, how many there were, nor how long their journey lasted.

It was the star in the East that somehow made them aware of the birth of a King, whom they came to worship. Possibly they were familiar with OT prophecies concerning the Messiah’s arrival. Perhaps they knew of Balaam’s prediction that a Star would come out of Jacob (Num. 24:17) and connected this with the prophecy of seventy weeks which foretold the time of Christ’s first coming (Dan. 9:24, 25). But it seems more probable that the knowledge was communicated to them supernaturally.

Various scientific explanations have been offered to account for the star. Some say, for instance, that it was a conjunction of planets. But the course of this star was highly irregular; it went before the wise men, leading them from Jerusalem to the house where Jesus was living (v. 9). Then it stopped. In fact, it was so unusual that it can only be accounted for as a miracle.

2:3 When Herod the king heard that a Baby had been born who was to be king of the Jews, he was troubled. Any such Baby was a threat to his uneasy rule. All Jerusalem was troubled with him. The city that should have received the news with joy was disturbed by anything that might upset its status quo or risk the displeasure of the hated Roman rulers.

2:4–6 Herod assembled the Jewish religious leaders to find out where the Christ was to be born. The chief priests were the high priest and his sons (and perhaps other members of his family). The scribes of the people were lay experts in the Law of Moses. They preserved and taught the law and served as judges in the Sanhedrin. These priests and scribes promptly quoted Micah 5:2 which identified Bethlehem of Judea as the King’s birthplace. The text of the prophecy in Micah calls the city “Bethlehem Ephrathah.” Since there was more than one town called Bethlehem in Palestine, this identifies it as the one in the district of Ephrathah within the tribal boundaries of Judah.

2:7, 8 King Herod … secretly called the wise men to determine what time the star first appeared. This secrecy betrayed his sadistic motive: he would need this information if he was unable to locate the right Child. To cover up his real intention, he sent the magi on their search and requested that they send back word to him of their success.

2:9 As the wise men set out, the star which they had seen in the East reappeared. This indicates that the star had not guided them all the way from the East. But now it did guide them to the house where the young Child was.

2:10 Special mention is made of the exceedingly great joy of the wise men when they saw the star. These Gentiles diligently sought for Christ; Herod planned to kill Him; the priests and scribes were (as yet) indifferent; the people of Jerusalem were troubled. These attitudes were omens of the way in which the Messiah would be received.

2:11 When they entered the house, the magi saw the young Child with Mary His mother. They fell down and worshiped Him, offering costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Notice that they saw Jesus with His mother. Ordinarily mention would be made of a mother first, then her child, but this Child is unique and must be given first place (see also vv. 13, 14, 20, 21). The wise men worshiped Jesus, not Mary or Joseph. (Joseph is not even mentioned in this account; he will soon disappear entirely from the Gospel record.) It is Jesus who deserves our praise and worship, not Mary or Joseph.

The treasures they brought spoke volumes. Gold is a symbol of deity and glory; it speaks of the shining perfection of His divine Person. Frankincense is an ointment or perfume; it suggests the fragrance of the life of sinless perfection. Myrrh is a bitter herb; it presages the sufferings He would endure in bearing the sins of the world. The bringing of gifts by Gentiles is reminiscent of the language of Isaiah 60:6. Isaiah predicted that Gentiles would come to the Messiah with gifts, but mentioned only gold and frankincense: “ … they shall bring gold and incense. And they shall proclaim the praises of the Lord.” Why was myrrh omitted? Because Isaiah was speaking of Christ’s second advent—His coming in power and great glory. There will be no myrrh then because He will not suffer then. But in Matthew the myrrh is included because His first coming is in view. In Matthew we have the sufferings of Christ; in this passage of Isaiah, the glories that shall follow.

2:12 The wise men were divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they obediently returned to their homes by another route. No one who meets Christ with a sincere heart ever returns the same way. True encounter with Him transforms all of life.

B. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Flee to Egypt (2:13–15)

2:13, 14† From infancy the threat of death hung over our Lord. It is apparent that He was born to die, but only at the appointed time. Anyone who walks in God’s will is immortal until his work is done. An angel of the Lord warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt with his family. Herod was ready to embark on his “search and destroy” mission. The family became refugees from the wrath of Herod. We do not know how long they stayed, but with the death of Herod, the coast was clear for their repatriation.

2:15 Thus, another OT prophecy became clothed with new meaning. God had said through the prophet Hosea: “Out of Egypt I called My Son” (Hos. 11:1). In its original setting this referred to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt at the time of the exodus. But the statement is capable of a double meaning—the Messiah’s history would closely parallel that of Israel. The prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Christ by His return to Israel from Egypt. When the Lord returns to reign in righteousness, Egypt will be one of the countries sharing in the blessings of the Millennium (Isa. 19:21–25; Zeph. 3:9, 10; Ps. 68:31). Why should that nation, a traditional enemy of Israel, be so favored? Could it be a token of divine gratitude for its granting sanctuary to the Lord Jesus?

C. Herod Massacres the Babies of Bethlehem (2:16–18)

2:16 When the wise men failed to return, Herod realized that he had been deceived in his plot to locate the young King. In senseless rage, he ordered the death of all the male children under the age of two in Bethlehem and in all its districts. Estimates vary as to the number slain; one writer suggests about twenty-six. It is not likely that hundreds were involved.

2:17, 18 The weeping which followed the killing of the children was a fulfillment of the words of Jeremiah the prophet:

Thus says the LORD:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation and bitter weeping,

Rachel weeping for her children,

Refusing to be comforted for her children,

Because they are no more” (Jer. 31:15).

In the prophecy, Rachel represents the nation Israel. The grief of the nation is attributed to Rachel, who was buried in Ramah (near Bethlehem, where the massacre took place). As the bereaved parents passed her tomb, she is pictured as weeping with them. In his effort to eliminate this young Rival, Herod gained nothing but dishonorable mention in the annals of infamy.

D. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Settle in Nazareth (2:19–23)

After Herod’s death, an angel of the Lord assured Joseph that it was now safe to return. When he reached the land of Israel, however, he heard that Herod’s son Archelaus had succeeded his father as king of Judea. Joseph was reluctant to venture into this region, and so, after his fears were confirmed by God in a dream, he traveled north to the region of Galilee and settled in Nazareth.

For the fourth time in this chapter, Matthew reminds us that prophecy was being fulfilled. He mentions none of the prophets by name, but says that the prophets had foretold that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene. No OT verse says this directly. Many scholars suggest Matthew is referring to Isaiah 11:1: “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” The Hebrew word translated “Rod” is netzer, but the connection seems remote. A more probable explanation is that “Nazarene” is used to describe anyone who lived in Nazareth, a town viewed with contempt by the rest of the people. Nathaniel expresses this by the proverbial question, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). The scorn heaped upon this “unimportant” town fell upon its inhabitants as well. So when verse 23 says He shall be called a Nazarene, it means that He would be treated with contempt. Although we cannot find any prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene, we can find one that says He would be “despised and rejected by men” (Isa. 53:3). Another says that He would be a worm and not a man, scorned and rejected by people (Ps. 22:6). So while the prophets did not use the exact words, this was undeniably the spirit of several prophecies.

It is amazing that when the mighty God came to earth, He was given a nickname of reproach. Those who follow Him are privileged to share His reproach (Heb. 13:13).

III. PREPARATIONS FOR THE MESSIAH’S MINISTRY AND HIS INAUGURATION (Chaps. 3, 4)

A. John the Baptist Prepares the Way (3:1–12)

Between chapters 2 and 3 is an interval of twenty-eight or twenty-nine years which Matthew does not mention. During this time, Jesus was in Nazareth, preparing for the work which lay ahead. They were years in which He performed no miracles, yet in which He found perfect delight in the eyes of God (Matt. 3:17). With this chapter we come to the threshold of His public ministry.

3:1, 2 John the Baptist was six months older than his cousin Jesus (see Luke 1:26, 36). He stepped onto the stage of history to serve as forerunner for the King of Israel. His unlikely parish was the wilderness of Judea—an arid area extending from Jerusalem to the Jordan. John’s message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The King would soon appear, but He could not and would not reign over people who clung to their sins. They must change directions, must confess and forsake their sins. God was calling them from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of heaven.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

In verse 2 we have the first occurrence of the phrase the kingdom of heaven, which is used thirty-two times in this Gospel. Since a person can not rightly understand Matthew without comprehending this concept, a definition and description of the term are in order here.

The kingdom of heaven is the sphere in which God’s rule is acknowledged. The word “heaven” is used to denote God. This is shown in Daniel 4:25, where Daniel said that “the Most High” rules in the kingdom of men. In the next verse he says that “heaven” rules. Wherever people submit to the rule of God, there the kingdom of heaven exists.

There are two aspects of the kingdom of heaven. In its broadest sense it includes everyone who professes to acknowledge God as Supreme Ruler. In its narrower aspect it includes only those who have been genuinely converted. We may picture this by two concentric circles.

The big circle is the sphere of profession; it includes all who are genuine subjects of the King, and also those who only profess allegiance to Him. This is seen in the parables of the sower (Matt. 13:3–9), the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31, 32), and the leaven (Matt. 13:33). The little circle includes only those who have been born again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven in its inward aspect can be entered only by those who are converted (Matt. 18:3).

By putting together all the references to the kingdom in the Bible, we can trace its historical development in five distinct phases:

First, the kingdom was prophesied in the OT. Daniel predicted that God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed nor yield its sovereignty to another people (Dan. 2:44). He also foresaw the coming of Christ to wield universal and everlasting dominion (Dan. 7:13, 14; see also Jer. 23:5, 6).

Second, the kingdom was described by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the twelve disciples as being at hand or present (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7). In Matthew 12:28, Jesus said, “ … if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” In Luke 17:21, He said, “For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” or in your midst. The kingdom was present in the Person of the King. As we shall show later, the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are used interchangeably.

Third, the kingdom is described in an interim form. After He was rejected by the nation of Israel, the King returned to heaven. The kingdom exists today, while the King is absent, in the hearts of all who acknowledge His kingship, and its moral and ethical principles, including the Sermon on the Mount, are applicable to us today. This interim phase of the kingdom is described in the parables of Matthew 13.

The fourth phase of the kingdom is what might be called its manifestation. This is the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth which was pictured by the Transfiguration of Christ when He was seen in the glory of His coming reign (Matt. 17:1–8). Jesus referred to this phase in Matthew 8:11 when He said, “ … many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

The final form will be the everlasting kingdom. It is described in 2 Peter 1:11 as “the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The phrase “kingdom of heaven” is found only in Matthew’s Gospel, but “kingdom of God” is found in all four Gospels. For all practical purposes there is no difference—the same things are said about both. For example, in Matthew 19:23 Jesus said that it would be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Both Mark (10:23) and Luke (18:24) record that Jesus said this about the kingdom of God (see also Matt. 19:24 which has a similar maxim using “kingdom of God”).

We mentioned above that the kingdom of heaven has an outward aspect and an inner reality. That the same is true of the kingdom of God is further proof that the two terms indicate the same thing. The kingdom of God, too, includes the real and the false. This is seen in the parables of the sower (Luke 8:4–10), the mustard seed (Luke 13:18, 19), and the leaven (Luke 13:20, 21). As to its true, inward reality, the kingdom of God can be entered only by those who are born again (John 3:3, 5).

One final point: the kingdom is not the same as the church. The kingdom began when Christ embarked on His public ministry; the church began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). The kingdom will continue on earth till the earth is destroyed; the church continues on earth till the Rapture (the catching away or removal of the church from earth when Christ descends from heaven and takes all believers home with Him—1 Thess. 4:13–18). The church will return with Christ at His Second Advent to reign with Him as His bride. At present the people who are in the kingdom in its true, inner reality are also in the church.

3:3 To return to the exposition of Matthew 3, note that the preparatory ministry of John had been prophesied by Isaiah over seven hundred years before his time:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make straight in the desert

A highway for our God” (40:3).

John was the voice. The nation of Israel, spiritually speaking, was the wilderness—dry and barren. John called on the people to prepare the way of the LORD by repenting of, and forsaking, their sins and to make His paths straight by removing from their lives anything that would hinder His complete dominion.

3:4 The Baptizer’s garment was made of camel’s hair—not the soft, luxurious camel’s hair cloth of our day, but the coarse fabric of an outdoorsman. He also wore a leather belt. This was the same attire as that of Elijah (2 Kgs. 1:8) and perhaps served to alert believing Jews to the similarity between John’s mission and that of Elijah (Mal. 4:5; Luke 1:17; Matt. 11:14; 17:10–12). John ate locusts and wild honey, the subsistence diet of one so consumed by his mission that the normal comforts and pleasures of life were sublimated.

It must have been a convicting, scalding experience to meet John—a man who cared for none of the things that people ordinarily live for. His absorption with spiritual realities must have made others realize how poor they were. His self-renunciation was a stinging rebuke to the worldliness of his day.

3:5, 6 People flocked to hear him from Jerusalem, all Judea, and the trans-Jordan area. Some of the people responded to his message and were baptized by him in the Jordan, saying in effect that they were ready to give full allegiance and obedience to the coming King.

3:7 With the Pharisees and Sadducees it was a different story. When they came to listen to him, John knew that they were not sincere. He recognized their true nature: the Pharisees professed great devotion to the law, but they were inwardly corrupt, sectarian, hypocritical, and self-righteous; the Sadducees were social aristocrats and religious skeptics who denied such basic doctrines as the resurrection of the body, the existence of angels, the immortality of the soul, and eternal punishment. Therefore he denounced both sects as a brood of vipers, who pretended to desire to escape from the wrath to come, but exhibited no signs of true repentance.

3:8 He challenged them to prove their sincerity by bearing fruits worthy of repentance. True repentance, as J. R. Miller wrote, “amounts to nothing whatever if it produces only a few tears, a spasm of regret, a little fright. We must leave the sins we repent of and walk in the new, clean ways of holiness.”

3:9 The Jews should stop presuming on their descent from Abraham as a passport to heaven. The grace of salvation is not transmitted in natural birth. God could make the stones of the Jordan into children of Abraham by a less violent process than the conversion of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

3:10 By stating that the ax is laid to the root of the trees, John was saying that a work of divine judgment was about to begin. Christ’s arrival and presence would test all men. Those found fruitless would be destroyed just as a fruitless tree is cut down and thrown into the fire.

3:11, 12 In verses 7–10, John had been speaking exclusively to the Pharisees and Sadducees (see. v. 7), but now he apparently addresses his entire audience, which included both the true and the false. He explained that there was a significant difference between his ministry and that of the Messiah who would soon arrive. John baptized with water unto repentance: the water was ceremonial and had no cleansing power; the repentance, though real, did not bring a person to full salvation. John viewed his ministry as preparatory and partial. The Messiah would completely overshadow John. He would be mightier, He would be more worthy, and His work would reach farther for He would baptize … with the Holy Spirit and fire.

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is distinct from the baptism with fire. The former is a baptism of blessing; the latter of judgment. The former took place at Pentecost; the latter is still future. The former is enjoyed by all true believers in the Lord Jesus; the latter will be the fate of all unbelievers. The former would be for those Israelites whose baptism was an outward sign of inward repentance; the latter would be for the Pharisees, Sadducees, and all who showed no evidence of true repentance.

Some teach that the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the baptism with fire are the same event (i.e., could not the baptism with fire refer to the tongues of fire that appeared when the Spirit was given at Pentecost?). In light of verse 12 which equates fire with judgment, it probably does not.

Immediately after his reference to the baptism of fire, John speaks of judgment. The Lord is pictured using a winnowing fan to toss the threshed grain into the wind. The wheat (true believers) falls directly to the ground and is carried into the barn. The chaff (unbelievers) is carried a short distance away by the wind and then gathered and burned with unquenchable fire. The fire in verse 12 means judgment, and since this verse is an amplification of verse 11, it is reasonable to conclude that the baptism with fire is a baptism of judgment.

B. John Baptizes Jesus (3:13–17)

3:13 Jesus walked approximately sixty miles from Galilee to the lower Jordan River to be baptized by John. This indicates the importance which He attached to this ceremony, and it should indicate the significance of baptism for His followers today.

3:14, 15 Realizing that Jesus had no sins of which to repent, John protested against baptizing Him. It was a true instinct that led him to suggest that the proper order would be for Jesus to baptize him. Jesus did not deny this; He simply repeated His request for baptism as a fitting way in which to fulfill all righteousness. He felt it appropriate that in baptism He identify Himself with those godly Israelites who were coming to be baptized unto repentance.

But there was an even deeper meaning. Baptism for Him was a ritual symbolizing the way in which He would fulfill all the righteous claims of God against man’s sin. His immersion typified His baptism in the waters of God’s judgment at Calvary. His emergence from the water foreshadowed His resurrection. By death, burial, and resurrection, He would satisfy the demands of divine justice and provide a righteous basis by which sinners could be justified.

3:16, 17 As soon as He came up from the water, Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove and alighting upon Him. Just as persons and things in the OT were consecrated to sacred purposes by “the holy anointing oil” (Ex. 30:25–30), so He was anointed Messiah by the Holy Spirit.

It was a hallowed occasion, when all three members of the Trinity were evident. The beloved Son was there. The Holy Spirit was there in dove form. The Father’s voice was heard from heaven pronouncing His blessing on Jesus. It was a memorable event because the voice of God was heard quoting Scripture: “This is My beloved Son (from Ps. 2:7) in whom I am well pleased” (from Isa. 42:1). This is one of three occasions when the Father spoke from heaven in delighted acknowledgment of His unique Son (the other places are Matt. 17:5 and John 12:28).

C. Jesus Is Tempted by Satan (4:1–11)

4:1 It may seem strange that Jesus should be led by the Spirit into temptation. Why should the Holy Spirit lead Him into such an encounter? The answer is that this temptation was necessary to demonstrate His moral fitness to do the work for which He had come into the world. The first Adam proved his unfitness for dominion when he met the adversary in the Garden of Eden. Here the last Adam meets the devil in a head-on confrontation and emerges unscathed.

The Greek word translated “tempt” or “test” has two meanings: (1) to test or prove (John 6:6; 2 Cor. 13:5; Heb. 11:17); and (2) to solicit to evil. The Holy Spirit tested or proved Christ. The devil sought to lure Him to do evil.

There is deep mystery connected with the temptation of our Lord. Inevitably the question arises, “Could He have sinned?” If we answer “No,” then we must face the further question, “How could it be a real temptation if He could not yield?” If we answer “Yes,” we are faced with the problem of how God incarnate could sin.

It is of first importance to remember that Jesus Christ is God and that God cannot sin. It is true that He is also human; however, to say that He could sin as a human but not as God is to build a case without scriptural foundation. The NT writers wrote of the sinlessness of Christ on several occasions. Paul wrote that He “knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21); Peter says that He “committed no sin” (1 Pet. 2:22); and John says, “in Him there is no sin” (1 Jn. 3:5).

Like us, Jesus could be tempted from without: Satan came to Him with suggestions contrary to the will of God. But unlike us, He could not be tempted from within—no sinful lusts or passions could originate in Him. Furthermore, there was nothing in Him that would respond to the devil’s seductions (John 14:30).

Despite Jesus’ inability to sin, the temptation was very real. It was possible for Him to be faced with enticements to sin, but it was morally impossible for Him to yield. He could only do what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19), and it is inconceivable that He would ever see the Father sinning. He could do nothing on His own authority (John 5:30), and the Father would never give Him the authority to yield to temptation.

The purpose of the temptation was not to see if He would sin, but to prove that even under tremendous pressure He could do nothing but obey the Word of God.

If Jesus could sin as a human being, we are faced with the problem of His still being a human in heaven. Could He still sin? Obviously, no.

4:2, 3 After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry. (The number forty in Scripture is frequently used in contexts of testing or probation.) This natural appetite provided the tempter with an advantage which in many people he could exploit. He suggested that Jesus use His miraculous power to convert the stones of the desert into loaves of bread. The introductory words, “If You are the Son of God,” do not imply doubt. They actually mean “Since You are the Son of God.” The devil is alluding to the words of the Father to Jesus at the baptism, “This is My beloved Son.” He uses a Greek construction2 which assumes the statement to be true, and, thereby, he calls on Jesus to exercise His power to appease His hunger.

To fulfill a natural appetite by using divine power in response to Satan’s prompting is in direct disobedience to God. The idea behind Satan’s suggestion is an echo of Genesis 3:6 (“good for food”). John classifies this temptation as “the lust of the flesh” (1 Jn. 2:16). Our corresponding temptation is to live for the gratification of natural desires, to choose a pathway of comfort instead of seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The devil says, “You have to live, don’t you?”

4:4 Jesus answered the temptation by quoting the Word of God. Our Lord’s example teaches that we don’t have to live, but we do have to obey God! Getting bread is not the most important thing in life. Obedience to every word of God is. Since Jesus had received no instructions from the Father to turn stones into bread, He would not act on His own and thus obey Satan, no matter how intense His hunger.

4:5, 6 The second temptation took place in Jerusalem on the pinnacle of the temple. The devil challenged Jesus to throw Himself down as a spectacular display of His divine Sonship. Again, the opening word if does not imply doubt, as is seen in Satan’s reference to the protection promised to the Messiah by God in Psalm 91:11, 12.

The temptation was for Jesus to demonstrate that He was Messiah by performing a sensational stunt. He could achieve glory without suffering; He could bypass the cross and still reach the throne. But this action would be outside the will of God. John describes this appeal as “the pride of life” (1 Jn. 2:16). It resembles the “tree desirable to make one wise” (Gen. 3:6) in the Garden of Eden, as both were a means of achieving personal glory in disregard of God’s will. This temptation comes to us in the desire to attain religious prominence apart from the fellowship of His suffering. We seek great things for ourselves, then run and hide when difficulties come our way. When we ignore God’s will and exalt ourselves, we tempt God.

4:7 Again, Jesus resisted the attack by quoting Scripture: “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God’ ” (see Deut. 6:16). God had promised to preserve the Messiah, but that guarantee presupposed living in God’s will. To claim the promise in an act of disobedience would be tempting God. The time would come when Jesus would be revealed as Messiah, but the cross must come first. The altar of sacrifice must precede the throne. The crown of thorns must precede the crown of glory. Jesus would await God’s time and would accomplish God’s will.

4:8, 9 In the third temptation the devil took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. He offered them to Jesus in exchange for His worship. Although this temptation had to do with worship, an exercise of the spirit, it was an effort to induce our Lord to grasp imperial power over the world by worshiping Satan. The reward offered, all the kingdoms of the world with their grandeur, appealed to “the lust of the eyes” (1 Jn. 2:16).

In a sense, the kingdoms of the world do belong to the devil at present. He is spoken of as “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4), and John tells us that “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 Jn. 5:19). When Jesus appears at the Second Advent as King of kings (Rev. 19:16), then “the kingdoms of this world” become His (Rev. 11:15). Jesus would not violate the divine timetable, and certainly He would never worship Satan!

For us the temptation is twofold: to barter our spiritual birthright for the passing glory of this world, and to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.

4:10 For the third time, Jesus resisted temptation by using the OT: “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” Worship and the service that flows from it are for God alone. To worship Satan would be tantamount to acknowledging him as God.

The order of the temptations as recorded by Matthew varies from that in Luke (4:1–13). Some have suggested that Matthew’s order parallels the order of the temptations that Israel faced in the wilderness (Ex. 16; 17; 32). Jesus showed Himself in perfect contrast to Israel’s response to hardship.

4:11 When Jesus had successfully rebutted Satan’s temptations, the devil left Him. Temptations come in waves rather than in a steady flow. “When the enemy comes in like flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him” (Isa. 59:19). What an encouragement for God’s tested saints!

We are told that angels came and ministered to Him, but no explanation is given for this supernatural assistance. It probably means that they provided the physical nourishment for Him which He had refused to provide at Satan’s suggestion.

From the temptation of Jesus, we learn that the devil can attack those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit, but that he is powerless against those who resist him with the Word of God.

D. Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry (4:12–17)

The Judean ministry of Jesus, which lasted almost one year, is not discussed by Matthew. This one year period is covered in John 1–4 and fits between Matthew 4:11 and 4:12. Matthew takes us from the temptation directly to the Galilean ministry.

4:12 When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He realized that this was an omen of His own rejection. In rejecting the King’s forerunner, the people were, for all practical purposes, rejecting the King also. But it was not fear that drove Him north to Galilee. Actually He was going right into the center of Herod’s kingdom—the same king who had just imprisoned John. In moving to Galilee of the Gentiles, He was showing that His rejection by the Jews would result in the gospel going out to the Gentiles.

4:13 Jesus remained in Nazareth until the populace tried to kill Him for proclaiming salvation for the Gentiles (see Luke 4:16–30). Then He moved to Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, an area originally populated by the tribes of Zebulun and Napthali. From this time, Capernaum became His headquarters.

4:14–16 Jesus’ move to Galilee was a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1, 2. The ignorant, superstitious Gentiles living in Galilee saw a great light—that is, Christ, the Light of the world.

4:17 From then on Jesus took up the message which John had preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It was a further call for moral renewal in preparation for His kingdom. The kingdom was near in the sense that the King was present.

E. Jesus Calls Four Fishermen (4:18–22)

4:18, 19 This is actually the second time Jesus called Peter and Andrew. In John 1:35–42 they were called to salvation; here they are called to service. The first took place in Judea; this one in Galilee. Peter and Andrew were fishermen, but Jesus called them to be fishers of men. Their responsibility was to follow Christ. His responsibility was to make them successful fishermen. Their following of Christ involved more than physical nearness. It included their imitation of the character of Christ. Theirs was to be a ministry of character. What they were was more important than what they said or did. Just as with Peter and Andrew, we are to avoid the temptation to substitute eloquence, personality, or clever arguments for true spirituality. In following Christ, the disciple learns to go where the fish are swimming, to use the proper lure, to endure discomfort and inconvenience, to be patient, and to keep out of sight.

4:20 Peter and Andrew heard the call and responded immediately. In true faith, they left their nets. In true commitment and devotion they followed Jesus.

4:21, 22 The call came next to James and John. They, too, became instant disciples. Leaving not only their means of livelihood but their father as well, they acknowledged the priority of Jesus over all earthly ties.

By responding to the call of Christ, these fishermen became key figures in the evangelization of the world. Had they remained at their nets, we would never have heard of them. Recognition of the lordship of Christ makes all the difference in the world.

F. Jesus Heals a Great Multitude (4:23–25)

The ministry of the Lord Jesus was threefold: He taught God’s Word in the synagogues; He preached the gospel of the kingdom; and He healed the sick. One purpose of the miracles of healing was to authenticate His person and ministry (Heb. 2:3, 4). Chapters 5–7 are an example of His teaching ministry and chapters 8–9 describe His miracles.

4:23 Verse 23 is the first use of gospel in the NT. The term means “good news of salvation.” In every age of the world’s history there has been only one gospel, only one way of salvation.

THE GOSPEL

The gospel originates in the grace of God (Eph. 2:8). That means that God gives eternal life freely to sinful people who don’t deserve it.

The basis of the gospel is the work of Christ on the cross (1 Cor. 15:1–4). Our Savior fulfilled all the claims of divine justice, enabling God to justify believing sinners. Old Testament believers were saved through the work of Christ, even though it was still future. They probably did not know much about the Messiah, but God did—and He imputed the value of Christ’s work to their account. In a sense they were saved “on credit.” We, too, are saved through the work of Christ, but in our case, the work has already been finished.

The gospel is received by faith alone (Eph. 2:8). In the OT, people were saved by believing whatever God had told them. In this age, people are saved by believing God’s testimony concerning His Son as the only way of salvation (1 Jn. 5:11, 12). The ultimate goal of the gospel is heaven. We have the hope of eternity in heaven (2 Cor. 5:6–10), just as OT saints did (Heb. 11:10, 14–16).

While there is only one gospel, there are different features of the gospel in different times. For instance, there is a different emphasis between the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of the grace of God. The gospel of the kingdom says, “Repent and receive the Messiah; then you will enter His kingdom when it is set up on earth.” The gospel of grace says, “Repent and receive Christ; then you will be taken up to meet Him and to be with Him forever.” Fundamentally, they are the same gospel—salvation by grace through faith—but they show that there are different administrations of the gospel according to God’s dispensational purposes.

When Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom, He was announcing His coming as King of the Jews and explaining the terms of admission into His kingdom. His miracles showed the wholesome nature of the kingdom.3

4:24, 25 His fame spread throughout all Syria (the territory north and northeast of Israel). All the sick people, demon-possessed, and disabled felt His healing touch. People thronged to Him from Galilee, the Decapolis (a confederation of ten Gentile cities in northeastern Palestine), Jerusalem, Judea, and the region east of the Jordan River. As. B. B. Warfield wrote: “Disease and death must have been almost eliminated for a brief season from … the region.” No wonder the public was greatly astonished at the reports they were hearing from Galilee!

IV. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM (Chaps. 5–7)

It is no accident that the Sermon on the Mount is placed near the beginning of the NT. Its position indicates its importance. In it the King summarizes the character and conduct expected of His subjects.

This sermon is not a presentation of the plan of salvation; nor is its teaching intended for unsaved people. It was addressed to the disciples (5:1, 2) and was intended to be the constitution, or the system of laws and principles, which was to govern the King’s subjects during His reign. It was meant for all—past, present, or future—who acknowledge Christ as King. When Christ was on earth, it had direct application to His disciples. Now, while our Lord reigns in heaven, it applies to all who crown Him King in their hearts. Finally, it will be the code of behavior for Christ’s followers during the tribulation and during His reign on earth.

The Sermon has a distinct Jewish flavor, as seen in allusions to the council (i.e., the Sanhedrin) in 5:22, the altar (5:23, 24), and Jerusalem (5:35). Yet it would be wrong to say that its teaching is exclusively for believing Israelites in the past or future; it is for those of every age who acknowledge Jesus Christ as King.

A. The Beatitudes (5:1–12)

5:1, 2 The sermon opens with the Beatitudes, or blessings. These set forth the ideal citizen of Christ’s kingdom. The qualities described and approved are the opposite of those that the world values. A. W. Tozer describes them thus: “A fairly accurate description of the human race might be furnished one unacquainted with it by taking the Beatitudes, turning them wrong side out, and saying, ‘Here is your human race.’ ”

5:3 This first blessing is pronounced on the poor in spirit. This does not refer to natural disposition, but to one’s deliberate choice and discipline. The poor in spirit are those who acknowledge their own helplessness and rely on God’s omnipotence. They sense their spiritual need and find it supplied in the Lord. The kingdom of heaven, where self-sufficiency is no virtue and self-exaltation is a vice, belongs to such people.

5:4 Those who mourn are blessed; a day of comfort awaits them. This does not refer to mourning because of the vicissitudes of life. It is the sorrow which one experiences because of fellowship with the Lord Jesus. It is an active sharing of the world’s hurt and sin with Jesus. Therefore, it includes not only sorrow for one’s own sin, but also sorrow because of the world’s appalling condition, its rejection of the Savior, and the doom of those who refuse His mercy. These mourners shall be comforted in the coming day when “God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 21:4). Believers do all their mourning in this life; for unbelievers, today’s grief is only a foretaste of eternal sorrow.

5:5 A third blessing is pronounced on the meek: they shall inherit the earth. By nature these people might be volatile, temperamental, and gruff. But by purposefully taking Christ’s spirit on them, they become meek or gentle (compare Matthew 11:29). Meekness implies acceptance of one’s lowly position. The meek person is gentle and mild in his own cause, though he may be a lion in God’s cause or in defending others.

The meek do not now inherit the earth; rather they inherit abuse and dispossession. But they will literally inherit the earth when Christ, the King, reigns for a thousand years in peace and prosperity.

5:6 Next, a blessing is pronounced on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: they are promised satisfaction. These people have a passion for righteousness in their own lives; they long to see honesty, integrity, and justice in society; they look for practical holiness in the church. Like the people of whom Gamaliel Bradford wrote, they have “a thirst no earthly stream can satisfy, a hunger that must feed on Christ or die.” These people will be abundantly satisfied in Christ’s coming kingdom: they shall be filled, for righteousness will reign and corruption will give way to the highest moral standards.

5:7 In our Lord’s kingdom, the merciful are blessed … for they shall obtain mercy. To be merciful means to be actively compassionate. In one sense it means to withhold punishment from offenders who deserve it. In a wider sense it means to help others in need who cannot help themselves. God showed mercy in sparing us from the judgment which our sins deserved and in demonstrating kindness to us through the saving work of Christ. We imitate God when we have compassion.

The merciful shall obtain mercy. Here, Jesus is not referring to the mercy of salvation which God gives to a believing sinner; that mercy is not dependent on a person’s being merciful—it is a free, unconditional gift. Rather the Lord is speaking of the daily mercy needed for Christian living and of mercy in that future day when one’s works will be reviewed (1 Cor. 3:12–15). If one has not been merciful, that person will not receive mercy; that is, one’s rewards will decrease accordingly.

5:8 The pure in heart are given the assurance that they shall see God. A pure-hearted person is one whose motives are unmixed, whose thoughts are holy, whose conscience is clean. The expression they shall see God may be understood in several ways. First, the pure in heart see God now through fellowship in the Word and the Spirit. Second, they sometimes have a supernatural appearance, or vision, of the Lord presented to them. Third, they shall see God in the Person of Jesus when He comes again. Fourth, they shall see God in eternity.

5:9 A blessing is pronounced on the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God. Notice that the Lord is not speaking about people with a peaceful disposition or those who love peace. He is referring to those who actively intervene to make peace. The natural approach is to watch strife from the sidelines. The divine approach is to take positive action toward creating peace, even if it means taking abuse and invective.

Peacemakers are called sons of God. This is not how they become sons of God—that can only happen by receiving Jesus Christ as Savior (John 1:12). By making peace, believers manifest themselves as sons of God, and God will one day acknowledge them as people who bear the family likeness.

5:10 The next beatitude deals with those who are persecuted, not for their own wrongdoings, but for righteousness’ sake. The kingdom of heaven is promised to those believers who suffer for doing right. Their integrity condemns the ungodly world and brings out its hostility. People hate a righteous life because it exposes their own unrighteousness.

5:11 The final beatitude seems to be a repetition of the preceding one. However, there is one difference. In the previous verse, the subject was persecution because of righteousness; here it is persecution for Christ’s sake. The Lord knew that His disciples would be maltreated because of their association with, and loyalty to, Him. History has confirmed this: from the outset the world has persecuted, jailed, and killed followers of Jesus.

5:12 To suffer for Christ’s sake is a privilege that should cause joy. A great reward awaits those who thus become companions of the prophets in tribulation. Those OT spokemen for God stood true in spite of persecution. All who imitate their loyal courage will share their present exhilaration and future exaltation.

The Beatitudes present a portrait of the ideal citizen in Christ’s kingdom. Notice the emphases on righteousness (v. 6), peace (v. 9), and joy (v. 12). Paul probably had this passage in mind when he wrote: “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).

B. Believers Are Salt and Light (5:13–16)

5:13 Jesus likened His disciples to salt. They were to the world what salt is in everyday life: salt seasons food; it hinders the spread of corruption; it creates thirst; it brings out the flavor. So His followers add piquancy to human society, serve as a preservative, and make others long for the righteousness described in the preceding verses.

If salt loses its flavor, how can its saltiness be restored? There is no way to restore the true, natural taste. Once it has lost its flavor, salt is good for nothing. It is discarded on a footpath. Albert Barnes’s comment on this passage is illuminating:

The salt used in this country is a chemical compound—and if the saltiness were lost, or it were to lose its savor, there would be nothing remaining. In eastern countries, however, the salt used was impure, mingled with vegetable and earthly substances; so that it might lose the whole of its saltiness, and a considerable quantity [of salt without flavor] remain. This was good for nothing except that it was used, as it is said, to place in paths, or walks, as we use gravel.4

The disciple has one great function—to be the salt of the earth by living out the terms of discipleship listed in the Beatitudes and throughout the rest of the Sermon. If he fails to exhibit this spiritual reality, men will tread his testimony under their feet. The world has only contempt for an undedicated believer.

5:14 Jesus also calls Christians the light of the world. He spoke of Himself as “the light of the world” (John 8:12; 12:35, 36, 46). The relationship between these two statements is that Jesus is the source of light; Christians are the reflection of His light. Their function is to shine for Him just as the moon reflects the glory of the sun.

The Christian is like a city that is set on a hill: it is elevated above its surroundings and it shines in the midst of darkness. Those whose lives exhibit the traits of Christ’s teaching cannot be hidden.

5:15, 16 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so that it will give light to all who are in the house. He did not intend that we hoard the light of His teaching for ourselves, but that we share it with others. We should let our light so shine that as people see our good works, they will glorify our Father in heaven. The emphasis is on the ministry of Christian character. The winsomeness of lives in which Christ is seen speaks louder than the persuasion of words.

C. Christ Fulfills the Law (5:17–20)

5:17, 18 Most revolutionary leaders sever all ties with the past and repudiate the traditional, existing order. Not so the Lord Jesus. He upheld the Law of Moses and insisted that it must be fulfilled. Jesus had not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. He clearly insisted that not one jot or one tittle would pass from the law until it was completely fulfilled. The jot, or yod, is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet; the tittle is a small mark or projection that serves to distinguish one letter from another, much as the bottom stroke of a capital E distinguishes it from a capital F. Jesus believed in the literal inspiration of the Bible, even in what might seem small unimportant details. Nothing in Scripture, even the smallest stroke, is without significance.

It is important to notice that Jesus did not say that the law would never pass away. He said it would not pass away till all was fulfilled. This distinction has ramifications for the believer today, and since the believer’s relation to the law is rather complicated, we are going to take time to summarize the Bible’s teaching on this subject.

THE BELIEVER’S RELATION TO THE LAW

The law is that system of legislation given by God through Moses to the nation of Israel. The entire body of the law is found in Exodus 20–31, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, though its essence is embodied in the Ten Commandments.

The law was not given as a means of salvation (Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:20a; Gal. 2:16, 21; 3:11); it was designed to show people their sinfulness (Rom. 3:20b; 5:20; 7:7; 1 Cor. 15:56; Gal. 3:19) and then drive them to God for His gracious salvation. It was given to the nation of Israel, even though it contains moral principles which are valid for people in every age (Rom. 2:14, 15). God tested Israel under the law as a sample of the human race, and Israel’s guilt proved the world’s guilt (Rom. 3:19).

The law had attached to it the penalty of death (Gal. 3:10); and to break one command was to be guilty of all (Jas. 2:10). Since people had broken the law, they were under the curse of death. God’s righteousness and holiness demanded that the penalty be paid. It was for this reason that Jesus came into the world: to pay the penalty by His death. He died as a Substitute for guilty lawbreakers, even though He Himself was sinless. He did not wave the law aside; rather He met the full demands of the law by fulfilling its strict requirements in His life and in His death. Thus, the gospel does not overthrow the law; it upholds the law and shows how the law’s demands have been fully satisfied by Christ’s redemptive work.

Therefore, the person who trusts in Jesus is no longer under the law; he is under grace (Rom. 6:14). He is dead to the law through the work of Christ. The penalty of the law must be paid only once; since Christ paid the penalty, the believer does not have to. It is in this sense that the law has faded away for the Christian (2 Cor. 3:7–11). The law was a tutor until Christ came, but after salvation, this tutor is no longer needed (Gal. 3:24, 25).

Yet, while the Christian is not under the law, that doesn’t mean he is lawless. He is bound by a stronger chain than law because he is under the law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:21). His behavior is molded, not by fear of punishment, but by a loving desire to please his Savior. Christ has become his rule of life (John 13:15; 15:12; Eph. 5:1, 2; 1 Jn. 2:6; 3:16).

A common question in a discussion of the believer’s relation to the law is, “Should I obey the Ten Commandments?” The answer is that certain principles contained in the law are of lasting relevance. It is always wrong to steal, to covet, or to murder. Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT, with an important distinction—they are not given as law (with penalty attached), but as training in righteousness for the people of God (2 Tim. 3:16b). The one commandment not repeated is the Sabbath law: Christians are never taught to keep the Sabbath (i.e., the seventh day of the week, Saturday).

The ministry of the law to unsaved people has not ended: “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (1 Tim. 1:8). Its lawful use is to produce the knowledge of sin and thus lead to repentance. But the law is not for those who are already saved: “The law is not made for a righteous person” (1 Tim. 1:9).

The righteousness demanded by the law is fulfilled in those “who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4). In fact, the teachings of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount set a higher standard than that set by the law. For instance, the law said, “Do not murder”; Jesus said, “Do not even hate.” So the Sermon on the Mount not only upholds the Law and the Prophets but it amplifies them and develops their deeper implications.

5:19 In returning to the Sermon, we notice that Jesus anticipated a natural tendency to relax God’s commandments. Because they are of such a supernatural nature, people tend to explain them away, to rationalize their meaning. But whoever breaks one part of the law, and teaches other people to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. The wonder is that such people are permitted in the kingdom at all—but then, entrance into the kingdom is by faith in Christ. A person’s position in the kingdom is determined by his obedience and faithfulness while on earth. The person who obeys the law of the kingdom—that person shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

5:20 To gain entrance into the kingdom, our righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (who were content with religious ceremonies which gave them an outward, ritual cleansing, but which never changed their hearts). Jesus uses hyperbole (exaggeration) to drive home the truth that external righteousness without internal reality will not gain entrance into the kingdom. The only righteousness that God will accept is the perfection that He imputes to those who accept His Son as Savior (2 Cor. 5:21). Of course, where there is true faith in Christ, there will also be the practical righteousness that Jesus describes in the remainder of the Sermon.

D. Jesus Warns Against Anger (5:21–26)

5:21 The Jews of Jesus’ time knew that murder was forbidden by God and that the murderer was liable to punishment. This was true before the giving of the law (Gen. 9:6) and it was later incorporated into the law (Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17). With the words, “But I say to you,” Jesus institutes an amendment to the teaching on murder. No longer could a person take pride in having never committed murder. Jesus now says, “In My kingdom, you must not even have murderous thoughts.” He traces the act of murder to its source and warns against three forms of unrighteous anger.

5:22 The first is the case of a person who is angry with his brother without a cause.5 One accused of this crime would be in danger of the judgment—that is, he could be taken to court. Most people can find what they think is a valid cause for their anger, but anger is justified only when God’s honor is at stake or when someone else is being wronged. It is never right when expressed in retaliation for personal wrongs.

Even more serious is the sin of insulting a brother. In Jesus’ day, people used the word Raca (an Aramaic term meaning “empty one”) as a word of contempt and abuse. Those who used this epithet were in danger of the council—that is, they were subject to trial before the Sanhedrin, the highest court in the land.

Finally, to call someone a fool is the third form of unrighteous anger that Jesus condemns. Here the word fool means more than just a dunce. It signifies a moral fool who ought to be dead, and it expresses the wish that he were. Today it is common to hear a person cursing another with the words, “God damn you!” He is calling on God to consign the victim to hell. Jesus says that the one who utters such a curse is in danger of hell fire. The bodies of executed criminals were often thrown into a burning dump outside Jerusalem known as the Valley of Hinnom or Gehenna. This was a figure of the fires of hell which shall never be quenched.

There is no mistaking the severity of the Savior’s words. He teaches that anger contains the seeds of murder, that abusive language contains the spirit of murder, and that cursing language implies the very desire to murder. The progressive heightening of the crimes demands three degrees of punishment: the judgment, the council, and hell fire. In the kingdom, Jesus will deal with sins according to severity.

5:23, 24 If a person offends another, whether by anger or any other cause, there is no use in his bringing a gift to God. The Lord will not be pleased with it. The offender should first go and make the wrong right. Only then will the gift be acceptable.

Even though these words are written in a Jewish context, that does not mean there is no application today. Paul interprets this concept in relation to the Lord’s Supper (see 1 Cor. 11). God receives no worship from a believer who is not on speaking terms with another.

5:25, 26 It is against a litigious spirit and a reluctance to admit guilt that Jesus warns here. It is better to promptly settle with an accuser rather than run the risk of a court trial. If that happens, we are bound to lose. While there is some disagreement among scholars about the identity of the people in this parable, the point is clear: if you are wrong, be quick to admit it and make things right. If you remain unrepentant, your sin will eventually catch up with you and you will not only have to make full restitution but suffer additional penalties as well. And don’t be in a hurry to go to court. If you do, the law will find you out, and you will pay the last penny.

E. Jesus Condemns Adultery (5:27–30)

5:27, 28 The Mosaic Law clearly prohibited adultery (Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). A person might be proud that he had never broken this commandment, and yet have his “eyes full of adultery” (2 Pet. 2:14). While outwardly respectable, his mind might be constantly wandering down labyrinths of impurity. So Jesus reminded His disciples that mere abstinence from the physical act was not enough—there must be inward purity. The law forbade the act of adultery; Jesus forbids the desire: Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. E. Stanley Jones caught the import of this verse when he wrote: “If you think or act adultery, you do not satisfy the sex urge; you pour oil on a fire to quench it.” Sin begins in the mind, and if we nourish it, we eventually commit the act.

5:29, 30 Maintaining an undefiled thought life demands strict self-discipline. Thus, Jesus taught that if any part of our body causes us to sin, it would be better to lose that member during life rather than to lose one’s soul for eternity. Are we to take Jesus’ words literally? Was He actually advocating self-mutilation? The words are literal to this extent: if it were necessary to lose a member rather than one’s soul, then we should gladly part with the member. Fortunately it is never necessary, since the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to live a holy life. However, there must be cooperation and rigid discipline on the believer’s part.

F. Jesus Censures Divorce (5:31, 32)

5:31 Under OT law, divorce was permitted according to Deuteronomy 24:1–4. This passage was not concerned with the case of an adulterous wife (the penalty for adultery was death, see Deut. 22:22). Rather, it deals with divorce because of dislike or “incompatibility.”

5:32 However, in the kingdom of Christ, whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery. This does not mean that she automatically becomes an adulteress; it presupposes that, having no means of support, she is forced to live with another man. In so doing she becomes an adulteress. Not only is the former wife living in adultery, whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

The subject of divorce and remarriage is one of the most complicated topics in the Bible. It is virtually impossible to answer all the questions that arise, but it may be helpful to survey and summarize what we believe the Scriptures teach.

DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

Divorce was never God’s intention for man. His ideal is that one man and one woman remain married until their union is broken by death (Rom. 7:2, 3). Jesus made this clear to the Pharisees by appealing to the divine order at creation (Matt. 19:4–6).

God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16), that is, unscriptural divorce. He does not hate all divorce because He speaks of Himself as having divorced Israel (Jer. 3:8). This was because the nation forsook Him to worship idols. Israel was unfaithful.

In Matthew 5:31, 32 and 19:9, Jesus taught that divorce was forbidden except when one of the partners had been guilty of sexual immorality. In Mark 10:11, 12 and Luke 16:18, the exception clause is omitted.

The discrepancy is probably best explained as that neither Mark nor Luke record the entire saying. Therefore, even though divorce is not the ideal, it is permitted in the case where one’s partner has been unfaithful. Jesus allows divorce, but He does not command it.

Some scholars see 1 Corinthians 7:12–16 as teaching that divorce is acceptable when a believer is deserted by an unbeliever. Paul says that the remaining person is “not under bondage in such cases,” (i.e., he or she is free to obtain a divorce) for desertion. The present writer’s opinion is that this case is the same exception granted in Matthew 5 and 19; namely, the unbeliever departs to live with someone else. Therefore, the believer can be granted a divorce on the scriptural grounds only if the other party commits adultery.

It is often contended that, although divorce is permitted in the NT, remarriage is never contemplated. However, this argument begs the question. Remarriage is not condemned for the innocent party in the NT only for the offending person. Also, one of the main purposes of a scriptural divorce is to permit remarriage; otherwise, separation would serve the purpose just as well.

In any discussion of this topic, the question inevitably arises, “What about people who were divorced before they were saved?” There should be no question that unlawful divorces and remarriages contracted before conversion are sins which have been fully forgiven (see, for example, 1 Cor. 6:11 where Paul includes adultery in the list of sins in which the Corinthian believers had formerly participated). Pre-conversion sins do not bar believers from full participation in the local church.

A more difficult question concerns Christians who have divorced for unscriptural reasons and then remarry. Can they be received back into the fellowship of the local church? The answer depends on whether adultery is the initial act of physical union or a continued state. If these people are living in a state of adultery, then they would not only have to confess their sin but also forsake their present partner. But God’s solution for a problem is never one that creates worse problems. If, in order to untangle a marital snarl, men or women are driven into sin, or women and children are left homeless and penniless, the cure is worse than the disease.

In the writer’s opinion, Christians who have been divorced unscripturally and then remarried can truly repent of their sin and be restored to the Lord and to the fellowship of the church. In the matter of divorce, it seems that almost every case is different. Therefore, the elders of a local church must investigate each case individually and judge it according to the Word of God. If at times, disciplinary action has to be taken, all concerned should submit to the decision of the elders.

G. Jesus Condemns Oaths (5:33–37)

5:33–36 The Mosaic Law contained several prohibitions against swearing falsely by the name of God (Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21). To swear by God’s Name meant that He was your witness that you were telling the truth. The Jews sought to avoid the impropriety of swearing falsely by God’s Name by substituting heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or their head as that by which they swore.

Jesus condemns such circumvention of the law as sheer hypocrisy and forbids any form of swearing or oaths in ordinary conversation. Not only was it hypocritical, but also it was useless to try to avoid swearing by God’s Name by merely substituting another noun for His Name. To swear by heaven is to swear by God’s throne. To swear by the earth is to swear by His footstool. To swear by Jerusalem is to swear by the royal capital. Even to swear by one’s own head involves God because He is the Creator of all.

5:37 For the Christian, an oath is unnecessary. His Yes should mean Yes, and his No should mean No. To use stronger language is to admit that Satan—the evil one—rules our lives. There are no circumstances under which it is proper for a Christian to lie.

This passage also forbids any shading of the truth or deception. It does not, however, forbid taking an oath in a court of law. Jesus Himself testified under oath before the High Priest (Matt. 26:63ff). Paul also used an oath to call God as his witness that what he was writing was true (2 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 1:20).

H. Going the Second Mile (5:38–42)

5:38 The law said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21). This was both a command to punish and a limitation on punishment—the penalty must not exceed the crime. However, according to the OT, authority for punishment was vested in the government, not in the individual.

5:39–41 Jesus went beyond the law to a higher righteousness by abolishing retaliation altogether. He showed His disciples that, whereas revenge was once legally permissible, now non-resistance was graciously possible. Jesus instructed His followers to offer no resistance to an evil person. If they were slapped on one cheek by someone, they were to turn the other to him also. If they were sued for their tunic (an inner garment), they were to surrender their cloak (an outer garment used for covering at night) as well. If an official compelled them to carry his baggage for one mile, they were to voluntarily carry it two miles.

5:42 Jesus’ last command in this paragraph seems the most impractical to us today. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. Our obsession with material goods and possessions makes us recoil at the thought of giving away what we have acquired. However, if we were willing to concentrate on the treasures of heaven and be content with only necessary food and clothing, we would accept these words more literally and willingly. Jesus’ statement presupposes that the person who asks for help has a geniune need. Since it is impossible to know whether the need is legitimate in all cases, it is better (as someone said), “to help a score of fraudulent beggars than to risk turning away one man in real need.”

Humanly speaking, such behavior as the Lord calls for here is impossible. Only as a person is controlled by the Holy Spirit can he live a self-sacrificing life. Only as the Savior is allowed to live His life in the believer can insult (v. 39), injustice (v. 40), and inconvenience (v. 41) be repaid with love. This is “the gospel of the second mile.”

I. Love Your Enemies (5:43–48)

5:43 Our Lord’s final example of the higher righteousness demanded in His kingdom concerns the treatment of one’s enemies, a topic which grows naturally out of the previous paragraph. The law had taught the Israelites to love their neighbor (Lev. 19:18). Although they were never explicitly commanded to hate their enemy, this spirit underlay much of their indoctrination. This attitude was a summary of the OT’s outlook toward those who persecuted God’s people (see Ps. 139:21, 22). It was a righteous hostility directed against the enemies of God.

5:44–47 But now Jesus announces that we are to love our enemies and to pray for those who … persecute us. The fact that love is commanded shows that it is a matter of the will and not primarily of the emotions. It is not the same as natural affection because it is not natural to love those who hate and harm you. It is a supernatural grace and can be manifested only by those who have divine life.

There is no reward if we love those who love us; Jesus says that even unconverted tax collectors6 do that! That type of love requires no divine power. Neither is there any virtue in greeting our brethren7 only, (i.e., our relatives and friends). The unsaved can do that; there is nothing distinctively Christian about it. If our standards are no higher than the world’s, it is certain that we will never make an impact on the world.

Jesus said that His followers should return good for evil so that they might be sons of their Father in heaven. He was not saying that this was the way to become sons of God; rather, it is how we show that we are God’s children. Since God shows no partiality to either the evil or the good (in that both benefit from sun and rain), so we should deal graciously and fairly with all.

5:48 Jesus closes this section with the admonition: Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. The word perfect must be understood in the light of the context. It does not mean sinless or flawless. The previous verses explain that to be perfect means to love those who hate us, to pray for those who persecute us, and to show kindness to both friend and foe. Perfection here is that spiritual maturity which enables a Christian to imitate God in dispensing blessing to everybody without partiality.

J. Give with Sincerity (6:1–4)

6:1 In the first half of this chapter, Jesus deals with three specific areas of practical righteousness in an individual’s life: charitable deeds (vv. 1–4), prayer (vv. 5–15), and fasting (vv. 16–18). The name Father is found ten times in these eighteen verses and is the key to understanding them. Practical deeds of righteousness should be done for His approval, not for people’s.

He begins this portion of His sermon with a warning against the temptation to parade our piety by performing charitable deeds for the purpose of being seen by others. It is not the deed that He condemns, but the motive. If public notice is the motivating factor then it is the only reward, for God will not reward hypocrisy.

6:2 It seems incredible that hypocrites would noisily attract attention to themselves as they gave offerings in the synagogues or handouts to beggars in the streets. The Lord dismissed their conduct with the terse comment: “They have their reward” (i.e., their only reward is the reputation they gain while on earth).

6:3, 4 When a follower of Christ does a charitable deed, it is to be done in secret. It should be so secret that Jesus told His disciples: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” Jesus uses this graphic figure of speech to show that our charitable deeds should be for the Father, and not to gain notoriety for the giver.

This passage should not be pressed to prohibit any gift that might be seen by others, since it is virtually impossible to make all one’s contributions strictly anonymous. It simply condemns the blatant display of giving.

K. Pray with Sincerity (6:5–8)

6:5 Next Jesus warns His disciples against hypocrisy when they pray. They should not purposely position themselves in public areas so that others will see them praying and be impressed by their piety. If the love for prominence is the only motive in prayer, then, Jesus declares, the prominence gained is the only reward.

6:6 In verses 5 and 7, the Greek pronoun translated you is plural. But in verse 6, in order to emphasize private communion with God, you switches to singular. The key to answered prayer is to do it in secret (i.e., go into your room and shut your door). If our real motive is to get through to God, He will hear and answer.

It is reading too much into the passage to use it to prohibit public prayer. The early church met together for collective prayer (Acts 2:42; 12:12; 13:3; 14:23; 20:36). The point is not where we pray. At issue here is, why we pray—to be seen by people or to be heard by God.

6:7 Prayer should not consist of vain repetitions, (i.e., stock sentences or empty phrases). Unsaved people pray like that, but God is not impressed by the mere multiplication of many words. He wants to hear the sincere expressions of the heart.

6:8 Since our Father knows the things we have need of, even before we ask Him, then it is reasonable to ask, “Why pray at all?” The reason is that, in prayer, we acknowledge our need and dependence on Him. It is the basis of our communicating with God. Also God does things in answer to prayer that He would not have done otherwise (Jas. 4:2d).

L. Jesus Teaches the Model Prayer (6:9–15)

6:9 In verses 9–13 we have what is generally called “The Lord’s Prayer.” In using this title, however, we should remember that Jesus never prayed it Himself. It was given to His disciples as a model after which they could pattern their prayers. It was not given as the exact words they were to use (v. 7 seems to rule this out), because many words repeated by rote memory can become empty phrases.

Our Father in heaven. Prayer should be addressed to God the Father in acknowledgment of His sovereignty over the universe.

Hallowed be Your name. We should begin our prayers with worship, ascribing praise and honor to Him who is so worthy of it.

6:10 Your kingdom come. After worship, we should pray for the advancement of God’s cause, putting His interests first. Specifically, we should pray for the day when our Savior-God, the Lord Jesus Christ, will set up His kingdom on earth and reign in righteousness.

Your will be done. In this petition we acknowledge that God knows what is best and that we surrender our will to His. It also expresses a longing to see His will acknowledged throughout the world.

On earth as it is in heaven. This phrase modifies all three preceding petitions. The worship of God, the sovereign rule by God, and the performance of His will are all a reality of heaven. The prayer is that these conditions might exist on earth as they do in heaven.

6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. After putting God’s interests first, we are permitted to present our own needs. This petition acknowledges our dependence on God for daily food, both spiritual and physical.

6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. This does not refer to judicial forgiveness from the penalty of sin (that forgiveness is obtained by faith in the Son of God). Rather this refers to the parental forgiveness that is necessary if fellowship with our Father is to be maintained. If believers are unwilling to forgive those who wrong them, how can they expect to be in fellowship with their Father who has freely forgiven them for their wrongdoings?

6:13 And do not lead us into temptation. This request may appear to contradict James 1:13, which states that God would never tempt anyone. However, God does allow His people to be tested and tried. This petition expresses a healthy distrust of one’s own ability to resist temptations or to stand up under trial. It acknowledges complete dependence on the Lord for preservation.

But deliver us from the evil one. This is the prayer of all who desperately desire to be kept from sin by the power of God. It is the heart’s cry for daily salvation from the power of sin and Satan in one’s life.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. The last sentence of the prayer is omitted in the Roman Catholic and most modern Protestant Bibles since it is lacking in many ancient manuscripts. However, such a doxology is the perfect ending to the prayer and is in the majority of manuscripts.8 It should, as John Calvin writes, “not only warm our hearts to press toward the glory of God … but also to tell us that all our prayers … have no other foundation than God alone.”

6:14, 15 This serves as an explanatory footnote to verse 12. It is not part of the prayer, but added to emphasize that the parental forgiveness mentioned in verse 12 is conditional.

M. Jesus Teaches How to Fast (6:16–18)

6:16 The third form of religious hypocrisy that Jesus denounced was the deliberate attempt to create an appearance of fasting. The hypocrites disfigured their faces when they fasted in order to look gaunt, haggard, and doleful. But Jesus says it is ridiculous to attempt to appear holy.

6:17, 18 True believers should fast in secret, giving no outward appearance of it. To anoint your head and wash your face was a means of appearing in one’s normal manner. It is enough that the Father knows; His reward will be better than people’s approval.

FASTING

To fast is to abstain from gratifying any physical appetite. It may be voluntary, as in this passage, or involuntary (as in Acts 27:33 or 2 Cor. 11:27). In the NT it is associated with mourning (Matt. 9:14, 15) and prayer (Luke 2:37; Acts 14:23). In these passages fasting accompanied prayer as an acknowledgment of one’s earnestness in discerning the will of God.

Fasting has no merit as far as salvation is concerned; neither does it give a Christian special standing before God. A Pharisee once boasted that he fasted twice a week; however, it failed to bring him the justification he sought (Luke 18:12, 14). But when a Christian fasts secretly as a spiritual exercise, God sees and rewards. While not commanded in the NT, it is encouraged by promise of reward. It can aid in one’s prayer life by taking away dullness and drowsiness. It is valuable in times of crisis when one wishes to discern the will of God. And it is of value in promoting self-discipline. Fasting is a matter between an individual and God and should be done only with a desire to please Him. It loses its value when it is imposed from outside or displayed from a wrong motive.

N. Lay Up Treasures in Heaven (6:19–21)

This passage contains some of the most revolutionary teachings of our Lord—and some of the most neglected. The theme of the rest of the chapter is how to find security for the future.

6:19, 20 In verses 19–21 Jesus contravenes all human advice to provide for a financially secure future. When He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,” He is indicating that there is no security in material things. Any type of material treasure on earth can be either destroyed by elements of nature (moth or rust) or stolen by thieves. Jesus says that the only investments not subject to loss are treasures in heaven.

6:21 This radical financial policy is based on the underlying principle that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If your money is in a safe-deposit box, then your heart and desire are also there. If your treasures are in heaven, your interests will be centered there. This teaching forces us to decide whether Jesus meant what He said. If He did, then we face the question, “What are we going to do with our earthly treasures?” If He didn’t, then we face the question, “What are we going to do with our Bible?”

O. The Lamp of the Body (6:22, 23)

Jesus realized that it would be difficult for His followers to see how His unconventional teaching on security for the future could possibly work. So He used an analogy of the human eye to teach a lesson on spiritual sight. He said that the eye is the lamp of the body. It is through the eye that the body receives illumination and can see. If the eye is good, the whole body is flooded with light. But if the eye is bad, then vision is impaired. Instead of light, there is darkness.

The application is this: The good eye belongs to the person whose motives are pure, who has a single desire for God’s interests, and who is willing to accept Christ’s teachings literally. His whole life is flooded with light. He believes Jesus’ words, he forsakes earthly riches, he lays up treasures in heaven, and he knows that this is the only true security. On the other hand, the bad eye belongs to the person who is trying to live for two worlds. He doesn’t want to let go of his earthly treasures, yet he wants treasures in heaven too. The teachings of Jesus seems impractical and impossible to him. He lacks clear guidance since he is full of darkness.

Jesus adds the statement that if therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! In other words, if you know that Christ forbids trusting earthly treasures for security, yet you do it anyway, then the teaching you have failed to obey becomes darkness—a very intense form of spiritual blindness. You cannot see riches in their true perspective.

P. You Cannot Serve God and Mammon (6:24)

The impossibility of living for God and for money is stated here in terms of masters and slaves. No one can serve two masters. One will inevitably take precedence in his loyalty and obedience. So it is with God and mammon. They present rival claims and a choice must be made. Either we must put God first and reject the rule of materialism, or we must live for temporal things and refuse God’s claim on our lives.

Q. Do Not Worry (6:25–34)

6:25 In this passage Jesus strikes at the tendency to center our lives around food and clothing, thus missing life’s real meaning. The problem is not so much what we eat and wear today, but what we shall eat and wear ten, twenty, or thirty years from now. Such worry about the future is sin because it denies the love, wisdom, and power of God. It denies the love of God by implying that He doesn’t care for us. It denies His wisdom by implying that He doesn’t know what He is doing. And it denies His power by implying that He isn’t able to provide for our needs.

This type of worry causes us to devote our finest energies to making sure we will have enough to live on. Then before we know it, our lives have passed, and we have missed the central purpose for which we were made. God did not create us in His image with no higher destiny than that we should consume food. We are here to love, worship, and serve Him and to represent His interests on earth. Our bodies are intended to be our servants, not our masters.

6:26 The birds of the air illustrate God’s care for His creatures. They preach to us how unnecessary it is for us to worry. They neither sow nor reap, yet God feeds them. Since, in God’s hierarchy of creation, we are of more value than the birds, then we can surely expect God to take care of our needs.

But we should not infer from this that we need not work for the supply of our present needs. Paul reminds us: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). Nor should we conclude that it is wrong for a farmer to sow, reap, and harvest. These activities are a necessary part of his providing for his current needs. What Jesus forbids here is multiplying barns in an attempt to provide future security independent of God (a practice He condemns in His story of the rich farmer in Luke 12:16–21). The Daily Notes of the Scripture Union succinctly summarize verse 26:

The argument is that if God sustains, without their conscious participation, creatures of a lower order, He will all the more sustain, with their active participation, those for whom creation took place.

6:27 Worry about the future is not only a dishonor to God—it is also futile. The Lord demonstrates this with a question: “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” A short person cannot worry himself eighteen inches taller. Yet, relatively speaking, it would be far easier to perform this feat than to worry into existence all the provisions for one’s future needs.

6:28–30 Next the Lord deals with the unreasonableness of worrying that we will not have enough clothing in the future. The lilies of the field (probably wild anemones) neither toil nor spin, yet their beauty surpasses that of Solomon’s royal garments. If God can provide such elegant apparel for wildflowers, which have a brief existence and are then used as fuel in the baking oven, He will certainly care for His people who worship and serve Him.

6:31, 32 The conclusion is that we should not spend our lives in anxious pursuit of food, drink, and clothing for the future. The unconverted Gentiles live for the mad accumulation of material things, as if food and clothing were the whole of life. But it should not be so with Christians, who have a heavenly Father who knows their basic needs.

If Christians were to set before them the goal of providing in advance for all their future needs, then their time and energy would have to be devoted to the accumulation of financial reserves. They could never be sure that they had saved enough, because there is always the danger of market collapse, inflation, catastrophe, prolonged illness, paralyzing accident. This means that God would be robbed of the service of His people. The real purpose for which they were created and converted would be missed. Men and women bearing the divine image would be living for an uncertain future on this earth when they should be living with eternity’s values in view.

6:33 The Lord, therefore, makes a covenant with His followers. He says, in effect, “If you will put God’s interests first in your life, I will guarantee your future needs. If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then I will see that you never lack the necessities of life.”

6:34 This is God’s “social security” program. The believer’s responsibility is to live for the Lord, trusting God for the future with unshakable confidence that He will provide. One’s job is simply a means of providing for current needs; everything above this is invested in the work of the Lord. We are called to live one day at a time: tomorrow can worry about its own things.

R. Do Not Judge (7:1–6)

This section on judging immediately follows our Lord’s provocative teaching concerning earthly riches. The connection between these two themes is important. It is easy for the Christian who has forsaken all to criticize wealthy Christians. Conversely, Christians who take seriously their duty to provide for the future needs of their families tend to downplay the literalness that some place on Jesus’ words in the last chapter. Since no one lives completely by faith, such criticism is out of order.

This command not to judge others includes the following areas: we should not judge motives; only God can read them; we should not judge by appearance (John 7:24; Jas. 2:1–4); we should not judge those who have conscientious scruples about matters that are not in themselves right or wrong (Rom. 14:1–5); we should not judge the service of another Christian (1 Cor. 4:1–5); and, we should not judge a fellow believer by speaking evil about him (Jas. 4:11, 12).

7:1 Sometimes these words of our Lord are misconstrued by people to prohibit all forms of judgment. No matter what happens, they piously say, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” But Jesus is not teaching that we are to be undiscerning Christians. He never intended that we abandon our critical faculty or discernment. The NT has many illustrations of legitimate judgment of the condition, conduct, or teaching of others. In addition, there are several areas in which the Christian is commanded to make a decision, to discriminate between good and bad or between good and best. Some of these include:

1. When disputes arise between believers, they should be settled in the church before members who can decide the matter (1 Cor. 6:1–8).

2. The local church is to judge serious sins of its members and take appropriate action (Matt. 18:17; 1 Cor. 5:9–13).

3. Believers are to judge the doctrinal teaching of teachers and preachers by the Word of God (Matt. 7:15–20; 1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Jn. 4:1).

4. Christians have to discern if others are believers in order to obey Paul’s command in 2 Corinthians 6:14.

5. Those in the church must judge which men have the qualifications necessary for elders and deacons (1 Tim. 3:1–13).

6. We have to discern which people are unruly, fainthearted, weak, etc., and treat them according to the instructions in the Bible (e.g., 1 Thess. 5:14).

7:2 Jesus warned that unrighteous judgment would be repaid in kind: “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.” This principle of reaping what we sow is built into all human life and affairs. Mark applies the principle to our appropriation of the Word (4:24), and Luke applies it to our liberality in giving (6:38).

7:3–5 Jesus exposed our tendency to see a small fault in someone else while ignoring the same fault in ourselves. He purposely exaggerated the situation (using a figure of speech known as hyperbole) to drive home the point. Someone with a plank in his eye often finds fault with the speck in the eye of another, not even noticing his own condition. It is hypocritical to suppose that we could help someone with a fault when we ourselves have a greater fault. We must remedy our own faults before criticizing them in others.

7:6 Verse 6 proves that Jesus did not intend to forbid every kind of judgment. He warned His disciples not to give holy things to dogs or to cast … pearls before swine. Under the Mosaic Law dogs and swine were unclean animals, and here the terms are used to depict wicked people. When we meet vicious people who treat divine truths with utter contempt and respond to our preaching of the claims of Christ with abuse and violence, we are not obligated to continue to share the gospel with them. To press the matter only brings increased condemnation to the offenders.

Needless to say, it requires spiritual perception to discern these people. Perhaps that is why the next verses take up the subject of prayer, by which we can ask for wisdom.

S. Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking (7:7–12)

7:7, 8 If we think that we can live out the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount by our own strength, we have failed to realize the supernatural character of the life to which the Savior calls us. The wisdom or power for such a life must be given to us from above. So here we have an invitation to ask and keep on asking; to seek and keep on seeking; to knock and keep on knocking. Wisdom and power for the Christian life will be given to all who earnestly and persistently pray for it.

Taken out of context, verses 7 and 8 might seem like a blank check for believers, (i.e., we can get anything we ask for). But this is simply not true. The verses must be understood in their immediate context and in light of the whole Bible’s teaching on prayer. Therefore, what seems like unqualified promises here are actually restricted by other passages. For example, from Psalm 66:18 we learn that the person praying must have no unconfessed sin in his life. The Christian must pray in faith (Jas. 1:6–8) and in conformity with the will of God (1 Jn. 5:14). Prayer must be offered persistently (Luke 18:1–8) and sincerely (Heb. 10:22a).

7:9, 10 When the conditions for prayer are met, the Christian can have utter confidence that God will hear and answer. This assurance is based on the character of God, our Father. On the human level, we know that if a son asks for bread, his father will not give him a stone. Neither would he give him a serpent if he had asked for a fish. An earthly father would neither deceive his hungry son nor give him anything that might inflict pain.

7:11 The Lord argues from the lesser to the greater. If human parents reward their children’s requests with what is best for them, how much more will our Father who is in heaven do so.

7:12 The immediate connection of verse 12 with the preceding seems to be this: since our Father is a giver of good things to us, we should imitate Him in showing kindness to others. The way to test whether an action is beneficial to others is whether we would want to receive it ourselves. The “Golden Rule” had been expressed in negative terms at least one hundred years before this time by Rabbi Hillel. However, by stating the rule in positive terminology, Jesus goes beyond passive restraint to active benevolence. Christianity is not simply a matter of abstinence from sin; it is positive goodness.

This saying by Jesus is the Law and the Prophets, that is, it summarizes the moral teachings of the Law of Moses and the writings of the Prophets of Israel. The righteousness demanded by the OT is fulfilled in converted believers who thus walk according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). If this verse were universally obeyed, it would transform all areas of international relationships, national politics, family life, and church life.

T. The Narrow Way (7:13, 14)

The Lord now warns that the gate of Christian discipleship is narrow and the way is difficult.9 But those who faithfully follow His teachings find the abundant life. On the other hand, there is the wide gate—the life of self-indulgence and pleasure. The end of such a life is destruction. This is not a discussion of losing one’s soul, but of a failure to live out the purpose of one’s existence.

These verses also have an application to the gospel by depicting the two roads and destinies of the human race. The wide gate and broad way lead to destruction (Prov. 16:25). The narrow gate and difficult way lead to life. Jesus is both the gate (John 10:9) and the way (John 14:6). But while this is a valid application of the passage, the interpretation is for believers. Jesus is saying that to follow Him would require faith, discipline, and endurance. But this difficult life is the only life worth living. If you choose the easy way, you will have plenty of company, but you will miss God’s best for you.

U. By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them (7:15–20)

7:15 Wherever the stern demands of true discipleship are taught, there are false prophets who advocate the wide gate and easy way. They water down the truth until, as C. H. Spurgeon said, “There is not enough left to make soup for a sick grasshopper.” These men who profess to be speaking for God come in sheep’s clothing, giving the appearance of being true believers. But inwardly they are ravenous wolves, (i.e., they are vicious unbelievers who prey on the immature, the unstable, and the gullible).

7:16–18 Verses 16–18 deal with the detection of the false prophets: you will know them by their fruits. Their licentious lives and destructive teachings betray them. A tree or plant produces fruit according to its character. Thornbushes cannot bear grapes; thistles do not bear figs. A good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. This principle is true in the natural world and in the spiritual world. The life and teaching of those who claim to speak for God should be tested by the Word of God: “If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isa. 8:20).

7:19, 20 The destiny of the false prophets is to be thrown into the fire. The doom of false teachers and prophets is “swift destruction” (2 Pet. 2:1). They can be known by their fruits.

V. I Never Knew You (7:21–23)

7:21 The Lord Jesus next warns against people who falsely profess to acknowledge Him as Savior, but have never been converted. Not everyone who calls Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of God enter the kingdom. The first step in doing the will of God is to believe on the Lord Jesus (John 6:29).

7:22, 23 On judgment day when unbelievers stand before Christ (Rev. 20:11–15), many will remind Him that they prophesied, or cast out demons, or performed many wonders—all in His name. But their protestation will be in vain. Jesus will declare to them that He never knew them or acknowledged them as His own.

From these verses we learn that not all miracles are of divine origin and that not all miracle workers are divinely accredited. A miracle simply means that a supernatural power is at work. That power may be divine or satanic. Satan may empower his workers to cast out demons temporarily, in order to create the illusion that the miracle is divine. He is not dividing his kingdom against itself in such a case, but is plotting an even worse invasion of demons in the future.

W. Build on the Rock (7:24–29)

7:24, 25 Jesus closes His sermon with a parable that drives home the importance of obedience. It is not enough to hear these sayings; we must put them into practice. The disciple who hears and does Jesus’ commands is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. His house (life) has a solid foundation and, when it is battered by rain and winds, it will not fall.

7:26, 27 The person who hears Jesus’ sayings and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. This man will not be able to stand against the storms of adversity: when the rain descended and the winds blew, the house fell because it had no solid base.

If a person lives according to the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, the world calls him a fool; Jesus calls him a wise man. The world considers a wise man to be someone who lives by sight, who lives for the present, and who lives for self; Jesus calls such a person a fool. It is legitimate to use the wise and foolish builders to illustrate the gospel. The wise man puts his full confidence in the Rock, Christ Jesus, as Lord and Savior. The foolish man refuses to repent and rejects Jesus as his only hope of salvation. But the interpretation of the parable actually carries us beyond salvation to its practical outworking in the Christian life.

7:28, 29 As our Lord ended His message, the people were astonished. If we read the Sermon on the Mount and are not astonished at its revolutionary character, then we have failed to grasp its meaning.

The people recognized a difference between Jesus’ teaching and that of the scribes. He spoke with authority; their words were powerless. His was a voice; theirs was an echo. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown comment,

The consciousness of divine authority, as Lawgiver, Expounder and Judge, so beamed through His teaching, that the scribes’ teaching could not but appear drivelling in such a light.10

V. THE MESSIAH’S MIRACLES OF POWER AND GRACE, AND VARYING REACTIONS TO THEM (8:1—9:34)

In chapters 8–12 the Lord Jesus presents conclusive evidence to the nation of Israel that He was indeed the Messiah of whom the prophets had written. Isaiah, for example, had foretold that Messiah would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, heal the lame, and make the mute sing (35:5, 6). Jesus, by fulfilling all these prophecies, proved that He was Messiah. Israel, by referring to her Scriptures, should have had no difficulty in identifying Him as the Christ. But none are so blind as those who will not see.

The events recorded in these chapters are presented according to a thematic scheme, rather than in strict chronological order. This is not a complete account of the Lord’s ministry, but a presentation of events selected by the Holy Spirit to portray certain motifs in the Savior’s life. Included in this presentation are the following:

1. Christ’s absolute authority over disease, demons, death, and the elements of nature.

2. His claim to absolute lordship in the lives of those who would follow Him.

3. The mounting rejection of Jesus by the nation of Israel, particularly by the religious leaders.

4. The ready reception of the Savior by individual Gentiles.

A. Power over Leprosy (8:1–4)

8:1 Though the teaching of Jesus was radical and extreme, it had a drawing power—so much so that great multitudes followed Him. Truth is self-verifying, and though people may not like it, they can never forget it.

8:2 A leper knelt before Jesus with a desperate appeal for healing. This leper had faith that the Lord could cure him, and true faith is never disappointed. Leprosy is an appropriate picture of sin because it is loathsome, destructive, infectious, and, in some forms, humanly incurable.11

8:3 Lepers were untouchables. Physical contact with them might expose a person to infection. In the case of the Jews, this contact made the person ceremonially unclean, that is, unfit to worship with the congregation of Israel. But when Jesus touched the leper and spoke the healing words, the leprosy vanished immediately. Our Savior has power to cleanse from sin and to qualify the cleansed person to be a worshiper.

8:4 This is the first instance in Matthew’s Gospel where it is recorded that Jesus commanded someone to tell no one of the miracle done for them or of what they had seen (see also 9:30; 12:16; 17:9; Mark 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). This was probably because He was aware that many people, interested only in deliverance from the Roman yoke, wanted to make Him King. But He knew that Israel was still unrepentant, that the nation would reject His spiritual leadership, and that He must first go to the cross.

Under the Law of Moses, the priest also served as physician. When a leper was cleansed, he was obligated to bring an offering and to appear before the priest in order to be pronounced clean (Lev. 14:4–6). It was no doubt a rare event for a leper to be healed—so extraordinary, in fact, that it should have alerted this priest to investigate whether the Messiah had appeared at last. But we read of no such reaction. Jesus told the leper to obey the law in this matter.

The spiritual implications of the miracle are clear: The Messiah had come to Israel with power to heal the nation of its illness. He presented this miracle as one of His credentials. But the nation was not yet ready for her Deliverer.

B. Power over Paralysis (8:5–13)

8:5, 6 The faith of a Gentile centurion is introduced in striking contrast to the unreceptiveness of the Jews. If Israel will not acknowledge her King, the despised pagans will. The centurion was a Roman military officer in charge of about one hundred men, and was stationed in or near Capernaum. He came to Jesus to seek healing for his servant who had suffered a violent and painful paralysis. This was an unusual display of compassion—most officials would not have shown such concern for a servant.

8:7–9 When the Lord Jesus offered to visit the sick servant, the centurion showed the reality and depth of his faith. He said, in effect, “I am not worthy that You should enter my house. Anyway, it isn’t necessary, because You could easily heal him by saying the word. I know about authority. I take orders from my superiors, and give orders to those under me. My commands are obeyed implicitly. How much more would Your words have power over my servant’s illness!”

8:10–12 Jesus marveled at the faith of this Gentile. This is one of two times when Jesus is said to have marveled; the other time was at the unbelief of the Jews (Mark 6:6). He had not found such great faith among God’s chosen people, Israel. This led Him to point out that in His coming kingdom, Gentiles would flock from all over the world to enjoy fellowship with the Jewish patriarchs while the sons of the kingdom would be thrown into outer darkness where they would weep and gnash their teeth. Sons of the kingdom are those who were Jews by birth, who professed to acknowledge God as King, but who were never truly converted. But the principle applies today. Many children privileged to be born and raised in Christian families will perish in hell because they reject Christ, while jungle savages will enjoy the eternal glories of heaven because they believed the gospel message.

8:13 Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” Faith is rewarded in proportion to its confidence in the character of God. The servant was healed instantly, even though Jesus was some distance away. We may see in this a picture of Christ’s present ministry—healing the non-privileged Gentiles from the paralysis of sin, though He Himself is not bodily present.

C. Power over Fever (8:14, 15)

Entering Peter’s house, Jesus found the mother-in-law sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever vanished. Ordinarily fever leaves a person greatly weakened, but this cure was so instantaneous and complete that she was able to get out of bed and serve Him—a fitting expression of gratitude for what the Savior had done for her. We should imitate her, whenever we are healed, by serving Him with renewed dedication and vigor.

D. Power over Demons and Various Sicknesses (8:16, 17)

At evening, when the Sabbath was over (see Mark 1:21–34), the people surged to Him with many victims of demon-possession. These pathetic individuals were indwelt and controlled by evil spirits. Often they exhibited superhuman knowledge and power; at other times they were tormented. Their behavior sometimes resembled that of insane persons, but the cause was demonic rather than physical or mental. Jesus cast out the spirits with a word.

He also healed all who were sick, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53:4: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” Verse 17 is often used by faith-healers to show that healing is in the atonement, and that therefore physical healing is something the believer can claim by faith. But here the Spirit of God applies the prophecy to our Savior’s earthly healing ministry and not to His work on the cross.

So far in this chapter we have seen four miracles as follows:

1. Healing of the Jewish leper, with Christ present.

2. Healing of the centurion’s servant, with Christ at a distance.

3. Healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, with Jesus there in the house.

4. Healing of all the demon-possessed and sick, with Jesus present.

Gaebelein suggests that these typify four stages of our Lord’s ministry:

1. Christ in His First Advent, ministering to His people Israel.

2. The Gentile dispensation, with Jesus absent.

3. His Second Advent, when He will enter the house, restoring His relations with Israel and heal the sick daughter of Zion.

4. The Millennium when all the demon-possessed and sick will be healed.12

This is an intriguing analysis of the progress of teaching in the miracles, and should alert us to the hidden depths of meaning in the sacred Scriptures. We should be warned, however, not to carry this method to extremes by forcing meanings to the point where they are ridiculous.

E. The Miracle of Human Refusal (8:18–22)

We have seen Christ exercising authority over disease and demons. It is only when He comes in contact with men and women that He meets with resistance—the miracle of human refusal.

8:18–20 As Jesus prepared to cross the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum to the east side, a self-confident scribe stepped forward pledging to follow Him “all the way.” The Lord’s answer challenged him to count the cost—a life of self-denial. “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” In His public ministry, He had no home of His own; however, there were homes where He was a welcome guest and He ordinarily had a place to sleep. The true force of His words seems to be spiritual: this world could not provide Him with true, lasting rest. He had a work to do and could not rest till it was accomplished. The same is true of His followers; this world is not their resting place—or at least, it shouldn’t be!

8:21 Another well-meaning follower expressed a willingness to follow Him, but had a higher priority: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Whether or not the father had already died makes little difference. The basic trouble was expressed in the contradictory words: “Lord … me first.” He put self ahead of Christ. While it is perfectly proper to provide a decent burial for one’s father, it becomes wrong when such a worthy act takes precedence over the Savior’s call.

8:22 Jesus answered him, in effect: “Your first duty is to follow Me. Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. An unsaved person can do that kind of work. But there is a work which you alone can do. Give the best of your life to what really lasts. Don’t waste it on trivia.” We are not told how these two disciples responded. But the strong implication is that they left Christ to make a comfortable place for themselves in the world and to spend their lives hugging the subordinate. Before we condemn them, we should test ourselves on the two terms of discipleship enunciated by Jesus in this passage.

F. Power over the Elements (8:23–27)

The Sea of Galilee is noted for sudden, violent storms that whip it into a churning froth. Winds sweep down the valley of the Jordan from the north, picking up speed in the narrow gorge. When they hit the Sea, it becomes extremely unsafe for navigation.

On this occasion, Jesus was crossing from the west side to the east. When the storm broke, He was asleep in the boat. The terrified disciples awoke Him with frantic pleas for help. It is to their credit that they went to the right Person. After rebuking them for their puny faith, He rebuked the winds and the waves. When a great calm descended, the men marveled that even the elements obeyed their humble Passenger. How little they comprehended that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe was in the ship that day!

All disciples encounter storms sooner or later. At times it seems we are going to be swamped by the waves. What a comfort to know that Jesus is in the boat with us. “No water can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies.” No one can quell life’s storms like the Lord Jesus.

G. Jesus Heals Two Demon-Possessed Men (8:28–34)

8:28 On the east side of the Sea of Galilee was the country of the Gergesenes.13 When Jesus arrived, He met two unusually violent cases of demon-possession. These demoniacs lived in cave-like tombs and were so fierce they made travel in that area unsafe.

8:29–31 As Jesus approached, the demons cried out, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” They knew who Jesus was, and that He would finally destroy them. In these respects their theology was more accurate than that of many modern liberals. Sensing that Jesus was going to cast them out of the men, they asked that they might be transfered to a herd of many swine feeding nearby.

8:32 Strangely enough Jesus granted their request. But why should the Sovereign Lord accede to the request of demons? To understand His action, we must remember two facts. First, demons shun the disembodied state; they want to indwell human beings, or, if that is not possible, animals or other creatures. Secondly, the purpose of demons is without exception to destroy. If Jesus had simply cast them out of the maniacs, the demons would have been a menace to the other people of the area. By allowing them to go into the swine, He prevented their entering men and women and confined their destructive power to animals. It was not yet time for their final destruction by the Lord. As soon as the transfer took place, the swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned.

This incident demonstrates that the ultimate aim of demons is to destroy, and underlines the terrifying possibility that two men can be indwelt by the number of demons it takes to destroy two thousand swine (Mark 5:13).

8:33, 34 The herdsmen ran back with news of what had happened. The result was that an aroused citizenry came out to Jesus and begged Him to leave the area. Ever since then Jesus has been criticized for the needless slaughter of pigs and has been asked to leave because He values human life above animals. If these Gergesenes were Jews, it was unlawful for them to raise pigs. But whether or not they were Jews, their condemnation is that they valued a herd of pigs more than the healing of two demoniacs.

H. Power to Forgive Sins (9:1–8)

9:1 Rejected by the Gergesenes, the Savior recrossed the Sea of Galilee and came to Capernaum, which had become His own city after the people of Nazareth attempted to destroy Him (Luke 4:29–31). It was here that He performed some of His mightiest miracles.

9:2 Four men came to Him, carrying a paralytic on a crude bed or mat. Mark’s account tells us that because of the crowd, they had to tear up the roof and lower the man into Jesus’ presence (2:1–12). When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” Notice that He saw their faith. Faith prompted the men to bring the invalid to Jesus, and the invalid’s faith went out to Jesus for healing. Our Lord first rewarded this faith by pronouncing his sins forgiven. The Great Physician removed the cause before treating the symptoms; He gave the greater blessing first. This raises the question whether Christ ever healed a person without also imparting salvation.

9:3–5 When some of the scribes heard Jesus declare the man’s sins forgiven, they accused Him of blasphemy within themselves. After all, only God can forgive sins—and they were certainly not about to receive Him as God! The omniscient Lord Jesus read their thoughts, rebuked them for the evil in their hearts of unbelief, then asked them whether it was easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or to say, “Arise and walk.” Actually it’s as easy to say one as the other, but which is easier to do? Both are humanly impossible, but the results of the first command are not visible whereas the effects of the second are immediately discernible.

9:6, 7 In order to show the scribes that He had authority on earth to forgive sins (and should therefore be honored as God), Jesus condescended to give them a miracle they could see. Turning to the paralytic, He said, “Arise, take up your bed and go to your house.”

9:8 When the multitudes saw him walking home with his pallet, they registered two emotions—fear and wonder. They were afraid in the presence of an obviously supernatural visitation. They glorified God for giving such power to men. But they completely missed the significance of the miracle. The visible healing of the paralytic was designed to confirm that the man’s sins had been forgiven, an invisible miracle. From this they should have realized that what they had witnessed was not a demonstration of God giving authority to men but of God’s presence among them in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. But they didn’t understand.

As for the scribes, we know from later events that they only became more hardened in their unbelief and hatred.

I. Jesus Calls Matthew the Tax Collector (9:9–13)

9:9 The tense atmosphere building up around the Savior is temporarily relieved by Matthew’s simple and humble account of his own call. A tax collector or custom house officer, he and his fellow officials were hated intensely by the Jews because of their crookedness, because of the oppressive taxes they exacted, and most of all, because they served the interests of the Roman Empire, Israel’s overlord. As Jesus passed the tax office, He said to Matthew, “Follow Me.” The response was instantaneous; he arose and followed; leaving a traditionally dishonest job to become an instant disciple of Jesus. As someone has said, “He lost a comfortable job, but he found a destiny. He lost a good income, but he found honor. He lost a comfortable security, but he found an adventure the like of which he had never dreamed.” Not the least among his rewards were that he became one of the twelve and was honored to write the Gospel which bears his name.

9:10 The meal described here was arranged by Matthew in honor of Jesus (Luke 5:29). It was his way of confessing Christ publicly and of introducing his associates to the Savior. Necessarily, therefore, the guests were tax collectors and others generally known to be sinners!

9:11 It was the practice in those days to eat reclining on couches and facing the table. When the Pharisees saw Jesus associating in this way with the social riff-raff, they went to His disciples and charged Him with “guilt by association”; surely no true prophet would eat with sinners!

9:12 Jesus overheard and answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” The Pharisees considered themselves healthy and were unwilling to confess their need for Jesus. (Actually they were extremely ill spiritually and desperately needed healing.) The tax collectors and sinners, by contrast, were more willing to acknowledge their true condition and to seek Christ’s saving grace. So the charge was true! Jesus did eat with sinners. If He had eaten with the Pharisees, the charge would still have been true—perhaps even more so! If Jesus hadn’t eaten with sinners in a world like ours, He would always have eaten alone. But it is important to remember that when He ate with sinners, He never indulged in their evil ways or compromised His testimony. He used the occasion to call men to truth and holiness.

9:13 The Pharisees’ trouble was that although they followed the rituals of Judaism with great precision, their hearts were hard, cold, and merciless. So Jesus dismissed them with a challenge to learn the meaning of Jehovah’s words, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” (quoted from Hosea 6:6). Although God had instituted the sacrificial system, He did not want the rituals to become a substitute for inward righteousness. God is not a Ritualist, and He is not pleased with rituals divorced from personal godliness—precisely what the Pharisees had done. They observed the letter of the law but had no compassion for those who needed spiritual help. They associated only with self-righteous people like themselves.

In contrast, the Lord Jesus pointedly told them, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” He perfectly fulfilled God’s desire for mercy as well as sacrifice. In one sense, there are no righteous people in the world, so He came to call all men to repentance. But here the thought is that His call is only effective for those who acknowledge themselves to be sinners. He can dispense no healing to those who are proud, self-righteous, and unrepentant—like the Pharisees.

J. Jesus Is Questioned about Fasting (9:14–17)

9:14 By this time John the Baptist was probably in prison. His disciples came to Jesus with a problem. They themselves fasted often, but Jesus’ disciples did not. Why not?

9:15 The Lord answered with an illustration. He was the bridegroom and His disciples the wedding guests. As long as He was with them, there was no reason to fast as a sign of mourning. But He would be taken from them; then His disciples would fast. He was taken from them—in death and burial, and since His ascension He has been bodily absent from His disciples. While Jesus’ words do not command fasting, they certainly approve it as an appropriate exercise for those who await the Bridegroom’s return.

9:16 The question raised by John’s disciples further prompted Jesus to point out that John marked the end of one dispensation, announcing the new Age of Grace, and He shows that their respective principles cannot be mixed. To try to mix law and grace would be like using a piece of new, unshrunk cloth to patch an old garment. When washed, the patch would shrink, ripping itself away from the old cloth. The disrepair would be worse than ever. Gaebelein complains rightly:

A judaistic Christianity which, with a profession of Grace and the Gospel, attempts to keep the law and fosters legal righteousness is a greater abomination in the eyes of God than professing Israel in the past, worshipping idols.14

9:17 Or the mixture would be like putting new wine into old wineskins. The pressure caused by the fermentation of the new wine would burst the old skins because they had lost their elasticity. The life and liberty of the Gospel ruins the wineskins of ritualism.

The introduction of the Christian era would inevitably result in tension. The joy which Christ brought could not be contained within the forms and rituals of the OT. There must be an entirely new order of things. Pettingill makes this clear:

Thus does the King warn His disciples against the admixture of the old … and the new…. And yet this is what has been done throughout Christendom. Judaism has been patched up and adapted everywhere among the churches and the old garment is labelled “Christianity.” The result is a confusing mixture, which is neither Judaism nor Christianity, but a ritualistic substitution of dead works for a trust in the living God. The new wine of free salvation has been poured into the old wineskins of legalism, and with what result? Why, the skins are burst and ruined and the wine is spilled and most of the precious life-giving draught is lost. The law has lost its terror, because it is mixed with grace, and grace has lost its beauty and character as grace, for it is mixed with law-works.15

K. Power to Heal the Incurable and Raise the Dead (9:18–26)

9:18, 19 Jesus’ discourse on the change of dispensations was interrupted by a distraught ruler of the synagogue whose daughter had just died. He knelt before the Lord, requesting Him to come and restore her to life. It was exceptional that this ruler should seek help from Jesus; most of the Jewish leaders would have feared the scorn and contempt of their associates for doing so. Jesus honored his faith by starting out with His disciples toward the ruler’s home.

9:20 Another interruption! This time it was a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years. Jesus was never annoyed by such interruptions; He was always poised, accessible, and approachable.

9:21, 22 Medical science had been unable to help this woman; in fact, her condition was deteriorating (Mark 5:26). In her extremity she met Jesus—or at least she saw Him surrounded by a crowd. Believing that He was able and willing to heal her, she edged through the crowd and touched the fringe of His garment. True faith never goes unnoticed by Him. He turned and pronounced her healed; instantly the woman was made well for the first time in twelve years.

9:23, 24 The narrative now returns to the ruler whose daughter had died. When Jesus reached the house, the professional mourners were wailing with what someone has called “synthetic grief.” He ordered the room cleared of visitors, at the same time announcing that the girl was not dead but sleeping. Most Bible students believe the Lord was using sleep here in a figurative sense for death. Some believe, however, that the girl was in a coma. This interpretation does not deny that Jesus could have raised her had she been dead, but it emphasizes that Jesus was too honest to take credit for raising the dead when actually the girl had not died. Sir Robert Anderson held this view. He pointed out that the father and all the others said she had died, but Jesus said she had not.

9:25, 26 In any case, the Lord took the girl by the hand and the miracle occurred—she got up. It didn’t take long for the news of the miracle to spread throughout the district.

L. Power to Give Sight (9:27–31)

9:27, 28 As Jesus departed from the ruler’s neighborhood, two blind men followed Him, pleading for sight. Though dispossessed of natural vision, these men had acute spiritual discernment. In addressing Jesus as Son of David, they recognized Him as the long-awaited Messiah and rightful King of Israel. And they knew that when the Messiah came, one of His credentials would be that He would give sight to the blind (Isa. 61:1, RSV marg.). When Jesus tested their faith by asking if they believed He was able to do this (give them sight), they unhesitatingly responded, “Yes, Lord.”

9:29, 30 Then the Great Physician touched their eyes and assured them that because they believed, they would see. Immediately their eyes became completely normal.

Man says, “Seeing is believing.” God says, “Believing is seeing.” Jesus said to Martha, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see?” (John 11:40). The writer to the Hebrews noted, “By faith we understand …” (11:3). The Apostle John wrote, “I have written to you who believe … that you may know …” (1 Jn. 5:13). God is not pleased with the kind of faith that demands a prior miracle. He wants us to believe Him simply because He is God.

Why did Jesus sternly warn the healed men to tell no one? In the notes on 8:4, we suggested that probably He did not want to foment a premature movement to enthrone Him as King. The people were as yet unrepentant; He could not reign over them until they were born again. Also, a revolutionary uprising in favor of Jesus would bring terrible reprisals from the Roman government on the Jews. Besides all this, the Lord Jesus had to go to the cross before He could reign as King; anything that blocked His pathway to Calvary was at variance with the predetermined plan of God.

9:31 In their delirious gratitude for eyesight, the two men spread the news of their miraculous cure. While we might be tempted to sympathize, and even to admire their exuberant testimony, the hard fact is that they were crassly disobedient and inevitably did more harm than good, probably by stirring up shallow curiosity rather than Spirit-inspired interest. Not even gratitude is a valid excuse for disobedience.

M. Power to Give Speech (9:32–34)

9:32 First Jesus gave life to the dead; then sight to the blind; now speech to the dumb. There seems to be a spiritual sequence in the miracles here—life first, then understanding, and then testimony.

An evil spirit had stricken this man with dumbness. Someone was concerned enough to bring the demoniac to Jesus. God bless the noble band of the anonymous who have been His instruments in bringing others to Jesus!

9:33 As soon as the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. Surely we may assume that he used his restored power of speech in worship and witness for the One who had so graciously healed him. The common people acknowledged that Israel was witnessing unprecedented miracles.

9:34 But the Pharisees answered by saying that Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of demons. This is what Jesus later labeled the unpardonable sin (12:32). To attribute the miracles which He performed by the Holy Spirit to the power of Satan was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. While others were being blessed by the healing touch of Christ, the Pharisees remained spiritually dead, blind, and dumb.

VI. APOSTLES OF THE MESSIAH-KING SENT FORTH TO ISRAEL (9:35—10:42)

A. The Need for Harvest Workers (9:35–38)

9:35 This verse begins what is known as the Third Galilean Circuit. Jesus traveled throughout the cities and villages, preaching the good news of the kingdom, namely, that He was the King of Israel, and that if the nation repented and acknowledged Him, He would reign over them. A bona fide offer of the kingdom was made to Israel at this time. What would have happened if Israel had responded? The Bible does not answer the question. We do know that Christ would still have had to die to provide a righteous basis by which God could justify sinners of all ages.

As Christ taught and preached, He healed all kinds of sicknesses. Just as miracles characterized the First Advent of the Messiah, in lowly grace, so they will mark His Second Advent, in power and great glory (cf. Heb. 6:5: “the powers of the age to come”).

9:36 As He gazed on Israel’s multitudes, harassed and helpless, He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. His great heart of compassion went out to them. Oh, that we might know more of that yearning for the spiritual welfare of the lost and dying. How we need to pray constantly:

Let me look on the crowd, as my Savior did,

Till my eyes with tears grow dim;

Let me view with pity the wandering sheep,

And love them for love of Him.

9:37 A great work of spiritual harvest needed to be done, but the laborers were few. The problem has persisted to this day, it seems; the need is always greater than the work-force.

9:38 The Lord Jesus told the disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Notice here that the need does not constitute a call. Workers should not go until they are sent.

Christ, the Son of God has sent me

To the midnight lands;

Mine the mighty ordination

Of the pierced hands.

—Gerhard Tersteegen

Jesus did not identify the Lord of the harvest. Some think it is the Holy Spirit. In 10:5, Jesus Himself sends out the disciples, so it seems clear that He Himself is the One to whom we should pray in this matter of world evangelization.

B. Twelve Disciples Called (10:1–4)

10:1 In the last verse of chapter 9, the Lord instructed His disciples to pray for more laborers. To make that request sincerely, believers must be willing to go themselves. So here we find the Lord calling His twelve disciples. He had previously chosen them, but now He calls them to a special evangelistic mission to the nation of Israel. With the call went authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all kinds of diseases. The uniqueness of Jesus is seen here. Other men had performed miracles, but no other man ever conferred the power on others.

10:2–4 The twelve apostles were:

1. Simon, who is called Peter. Impetuous, generous-hearted, affectionate man that he was, he was a born leader.

2. Andrew, his brother. He was introduced to Jesus by John the Baptist (John 1:36, 40), then brought his brother Peter to Him. He made it his business thereafter to bring men to Jesus.

3. James, the son of Zebedee, who was later killed by Herod (Acts 12:2)—the first of the twelve to die as a martyr.

4. John, his brother. Also a son of Zebedee, he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. We are indebted to him for the Fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and Revelation.

5. Philip. A citizen of Bethsaida, he brought Nathanael to Jesus. He is not to be confused with Philip the Evangelist, in the book of Acts.

6. Bartholomew. Believed to be the same as Nathanael, the Israelite in whom Jesus found no guile (John 1:47).

7. Thomas, also called Didymus, meaning “twin.” Commonly known as “Doubting Thomas,” his doubts gave way to a magnificent confession of Christ (John 20:28).

8. Matthew. The former tax collector who wrote this Gospel.

9. James, the son of Alphaeus. Little else is definitely known about him.

10. Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus. He is also known as Judas the son of James (Luke 6:16). His only recorded utterance is found in John 14:22.

11. Simon, the Canaanite, whom Luke calls the Zealot (6:15).

12. Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of our Lord.

The disciples were probably in their twenties at this time. Taken from varied walks of life and probably young men of average ability, their true greatness lay in their association with Jesus.

C. The Mission to Israel (10:5–33)

10:5, 6 The remainder of the chapter contains Jesus’ instructions concerning a special preaching tour to the house of Israel. This is not to be confused with the later sending of the seventy (Luke 10:1) or with the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19, 20). This was a temporary mission with the specific purpose of announcing that the kingdom of heaven was near. While some of the principles are of lasting value for God’s people in all ages, the fact that some were later revoked by the Lord Jesus proves they were not intended to be permanent (Luke 22:35, 36).

First the route is given. They were not to go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans, a mixed race detested by the Jews. Their ministry was limited at this time to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

10:7 The message was the proclamation that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. If Israel refused, there would be no excuse because an official announcement was to be made exclusively to them. The kingdom had drawn near in the Person of the King. Israel must decide whether to accept or reject Him.

10:8 The disciples were given credentials to confirm their message. They were to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,16 and cast out demons. The Jews demanded signs (1 Cor. 1:22) so God graciously condescended to give them signs.

As to remuneration, the Lord’s representatives were to make no charge for their services. They had received their blessings without cost and were to dispense them on the same basis.

10:9, 10 They would not be required to make advance provision for the journey. After all, they were Israelites preaching to Israelites, and it was a recognized principle among the Jews that the laborer deserves his food. So it would not be necessary for them to take gold, silver, copper, food bag, two tunics, sandals, or staffs. Probably the meaning is extra sandals or an extra staff; if they already had a staff, they were permitted to take it (Mark 6:8). The idea is that their needs would be supplied on a day by day basis.

10:11 What arrangements were they to make for housing? When they entered a city, they were to look for a worthy host—one who would receive them as disciples of the Lord and who would be open to their message. Once they found such a host, they were to stay with him as long as they were in the city, rather than moving if they found more favorable living conditions.

10:12–14 If a household received them, the disciples were to greet the family, showing courtesy and gratitude in accepting such hospitality. If, on the other hand, a house refused to host the Lord’s messengers, they were not obligated to pray for God’s peace on it, that is, they would not pronounce a benediction on the family. Not only so, they were to dramatize God’s displeasure by shaking the dust off their feet. In rejecting Christ’s disciples, a family was rejecting Him.

10:15 He warned that such rejection would bring severer punishment in the day of judgment than the perversion of Sodom and Gomorrah. This proves that there will be degrees of punishment in hell; otherwise how could it be more tolerable for some than for others?

10:16 In this section Jesus counsels the twelve concerning their behavior in the face of persecution. They would be like sheep in the midst of wolves, surrounded by vicious men bent on destroying them. They should be wise as serpents, avoiding giving needless offense or being tricked into compromising situations. And they should be harmless as doves, protected by the armor of a righteous character and faith unfeigned.

10:17 They should be on guard against unbelieving Jews who would hale them into criminal courts and flog them in their synagogues. The attack against them would be both civil and religious.

10:18 They would be dragged before governors and kings for Christ’s sake. But God’s cause would triumph over man’s evil. “Man has his wickedness but God has His way.” In their hour of seeming defeat the disciples would have the incomparable privilege of testifying before rulers and Gentiles. God would be working all things together for good. Christianity has suffered much from civil authorities, yet “no doctrine was ever so helpful to those appointed to govern.”

10:19, 20 They need not rehearse what they would say when on trial. When the time came, the Spirit of God would give them divine wisdom to answer in such a way as to glorify Christ and utterly confuse and frustrate their accusers. Two extremes should be avoided in interpreting verse 19. The first is the naive assumption that a Christian never needs to prepare a message in advance. The second is the view that the verse has no relevance for us today. It is proper and desirable for a preacher to prayerfully wait before God for the appropriate word for a specific occasion. But it is also true that in crises, all believers can claim God’s promise to give them wisdom to speak with divine intuition. They become mouthpieces for the Spirit of their Father.

10:21 Jesus forewarned His disciples that they would have to face treachery and betrayal. Brother would accuse brother. Father would betray his child. Children would become informers against their parents, resulting in the execution of the parents.

J. C. Macaulay put it well:

We are in good company in enduring the world’s hatred…. The servant may not expect better treatment at the hands of the enemy than the Lord Himself received. If the world had nothing better than a cross for Jesus, it will not have a royal carriage for His followers: if only thorns for Him, there will not be garlands for us…. Only let us see that the world’s hatred of us is really “for Christ’s sake,” and not on account of anything hateful in us and unworthy of the gracious Lord whom we represent.17

10:22, 23 The disciples would be hated by all—not by all without exception, but by all cultures, nationalities, classes, etc., of men. “But he who endures to the end will be saved.” Taken by itself, this could seem to imply that salvation can be earned by steadfast endurance. We know it cannot mean this because throughout the Scriptures salvation is presented as a free gift of God’s grace through faith (Eph. 2:8, 9). Neither can the verse mean that those who remain faithful to Christ will be saved from physical death; the previous verse predicts the death of some faithful disciples. The simplest explanation is that endurance is the hallmark of the genuinely saved. Those who endure to the end in times of persecution show by their perseverance that they are true believers. This same statement is found in Matthew 24:13 where it refers to a faithful remnant of Jews during the Tribulation who refuse to compromise their loyalty to the Lord Jesus. Their endurance manifests them as genuine disciples.

In Bible passages dealing with the future, the Spirit of God often shifts from the immediate future to the distant future. A prophecy may have a partial and immediate significance and also a complete and more distant fulfillment. For instance, the two Advents of Christ may be merged in a single passage without explanation (Isa. 52:14, 15; Mic. 5:2–4). In verses 22 and 23 the Lord Jesus makes this kind of prophetic transition. He warns the twelve disciples of the sufferings they will undergo for His sake, then He seems to see them as a type of His devoted Jewish followers during the Great Tribulation. He leaps forward from the trials of the first Christians to those of believers prior to His Second Advent.

The first part of verse 23 could refer to the twelve disciples: But “when they persecute you in this city, flee to another….” They were not obligated to remain under the tyranny of their enemies if there was an honorable way to escape. “It is not wrong to escape from danger—only from duty.”

The latter part of verse 23 carries us forward to the days preceding Christ’s coming to reign: “ … you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” This could not refer to the mission of the twelve because the Son of Man had already come. Some Bible teachers understand this as a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. However, it is difficult to see how this holocaust can be spoken of as “the coming of the Son of Man.” It seems far more plausible to find here a reference to His Second Coming. During the Great Tribulation, Christ’s faithful Jewish brethren will go forth with the gospel of the kingdom. They will be persecuted and pursued. Before they can reach all the cities of Israel, the Lord Jesus will return to judge His foes and set up His kingdom.

There might seem to be a contradiction between verse 23 and Matthew 24:14. Here it is stated that not all the cities of Israel will be reached before the Son of Man comes. There it says that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world before His Second Advent. However, there is no contradiction. The gospel will be preached in all nations though not necessarily to every individual. But this message will meet stiff resistance, and the messengers will be severely persecuted and hindered in Israel. Thus, not all the cities of Israel will be reached.

10:24, 25 The disciples of the Lord would often have occasion to wonder why they should have to endure ill treatment. If Jesus was the Messiah, why were His followers suffering instead of reigning? In verses 24 and 25, He anticipates their perplexity and answers it by reminding them of their relationship to Him. They were the disciples; He was their Teacher. They were servants; He was their Master. They were members of the household; He was the Master of the house. Discipleship means following the Teacher, not being superior to Him. The servant should not expect to be treated better than his Master. If men call the worthy Master of the house “Beelzebub” (“lord of flies,” an Ekronite god whose name was used by Jews for Satan), they will hurl even greater insults at the members of His household. Discipleship involves sharing the Master’s rejection.

10:26, 27 Three times the Lord told His followers not to fear (vv. 26, 28, 31). First, they should not fear the seeming victory of their foes; His cause would be gloriously vindicated in a coming day. Up to now the gospel had been relatively covered and His teachings had been comparatively hidden. But soon the disciples must boldly proclaim the Christian message which up to this point had been told them in secret, that is, privately.

10:28 Second, the disciples should not fear the murderous rage of men. The worst that men can do is kill the body. Physical death is not the supreme tragedy for the Christian. To die is to be with Christ and thus far better. It is deliverance from sin, sorrow, sickness, suffering, and death; and it is translation into eternal glory. So the worst men can do is, in a real sense, the best thing that can happen to the child of God.

The disciples should not fear men but should have a reverential fear of Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. This is the greatest loss—eternal separation from God, from Christ, and from hope. Spiritual death is the loss that cannot be measured and the doom that should be avoided at all cost.

The words of Jesus in verse 28 evoke memories of the saintly John Knox, whose epitaph reads, “Here lies one who feared God so much that he never feared the face of any man.”

10:29 In the midst of fiery trials, the disciples could be confident of God’s care. The Lord Jesus teaches this from the ubiquitous sparrow. Two of these insignificant birds were sold for a copper coin. Yet not one of them dies outside the Father’s will, without His knowledge or His presence. As someone has said, “God attends the funeral of every sparrow.”

10:30, 31 The same God who takes a personal interest in the tiny sparrow keeps an accurate count of the hairs of the head of each of His children. A strand of hair is of considerably less value than a sparrow. This shows that His people are of more value to Him than many sparrows, so why should they fear?

10:32 In view of the foregoing considerations, what is more reasonable than that the disciples of Christ should fearlessly confess Him before men? Any shame or reproach they might bear will be abundantly rewarded in heaven when the Lord Jesus confesses them before His Father. Confession of Christ here involves commitment to Him as Lord and Savior and the resulting acknowledgment of Him by life and by lips. In the case of most of the twelve, this led to the ultimate confession of the Lord in martyrdom.

10:33 Denial of Christ on earth will be repaid with denial before God in heaven. To deny Christ in this sense means to refuse to recognize His claims over one’s life. Those whose lives say, in effect, “I never knew You” will hear Him say at last, “I never knew you.” The Lord is not referring to a temporary denial of Him under pressure, as in Peter’s case, but to that kind of denial that is habitual and final.

D. Not Peace but a Sword (10:34–39)

10:34 Our Lord’s words must be understood as a figure of speech in which the visible results of His coming are stated as the apparent purpose of His coming. He says He did not come to bring peace but a sword. Actually He did come to make peace (Eph. 2:14–17); He came that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:17).

10:35–37 But the point here is that whenever individuals became His followers, their families would turn against them. A converted father would be opposed by his unbelieving son, a Christian mother by her unsaved daughter. A born-again mother-in-law would be hated by her unregenerate daughter-in-law. So a choice must often be made between Christ and family. No ties of nature can be allowed to deflect a disciple from utter allegiance to the Lord. The Savior must take precedence over father, mother, son, or daughter. One of the costs of discipleship is to experience tension, strife, and alienation from one’s own family. This hostility is often more bitter than is encountered in other areas of life.

10:38 But there is something even more apt to rob Christ of His rightful place than family—that is, the love of one’s own life. So Jesus added, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” The cross, of course, was a means of execution. To take the cross and follow Christ means to live in such devoted abandonment to Him that even death itself is not too high a price to pay. Not all disciples are required to lay down their lives for the Lord, but all are called on to value Him so highly that they do not count their lives precious to themselves.

10:39 Love of Christ must overmaster the instinct of self-preservation. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for Christ’s sake will find it. The temptation is to hug one’s life by trying to avoid the pain and loss of a life of total commitment. But this is the greatest waste of a life—to spend it in the gratification of self. The greatest use of a life is to spend it in the service of Christ. The person who loses his life in devotedness to Him will find it in its true fullness.

E. A Cup of Cold Water (10:40–42)

10:40 Not everyone would refuse the disciples’ message. Some would recognize them as representatives of the Messiah and receive them graciously. The disciples would have limited ability to reward such kindness, but they need not fret; anything done for them would be reckoned as being done for the Lord Himself and would be rewarded accordingly.

To receive Christ’s disciple would be tantamount to receiving Christ Himself, and to receive Him was the same as receiving the Father who sent Him, since the one sent represents the sender. To receive an ambassador, who stands in the place of the government that commissions him, is to enjoy diplomatic relations with his country.

10:41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. A. T. Pierson comments:

The Jews regarded the reward of the prophet as the greatest; because, while kings bore rule in the name of the Lord, and priests ministered in the name of the Lord, the prophet came from the Lord to instruct both priest and king. Christ says that if you do no more than receive a prophet in the capacity of prophet, the same reward that is given to the prophet will be given to you, if you help the prophet along. Think of that if you are inclined to criticize a speaker! If you help him to speak for God, and encourage him you will get part of his reward; but if you make it difficult for him to discharge his office, you will lose your reward. It is a great thing to help a man who is seeking to do good. You should not regard his dress, his attitude, his manners or his voice; but you should look beyond these things and say, “Is this message of God for me? Is this man a prophet of God to my soul?” If he is, receive him, magnify his word and work, and get part of his reward.18

The one who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. Those who judge others by physical attractiveness or material affluence fail to realize that true moral worth is often cloaked in very humble guise. The way a man treats the most homespun disciple is the way he treats the Lord Himself.

10:42 No kindness shown to a follower of Jesus will go unnoticed. Even a cup of cold water will be grandly rewarded if it is given to a disciple because he is a follower of the Lord.

Thus the Lord closes His special charge to the twelve by investing them with regal dignity. It is true that they would be opposed, rejected, arrested, tried, imprisoned, and perhaps even killed. But let them never forget that they were representatives of the King and that their glorious privilege was to speak and act for Him.

VII. INCREASING OPPOSITION AND REJECTION (Chaps. 11, 12)

A. John the Baptist Imprisoned (11:1–19)

11:1 Having sent the twelve on the special temporary mission to the house of Israel, Jesus departed from there to teach and to preach in the cities of Galilee where the disciples had previously lived.

11:2, 3 By now John had been imprisoned by Herod. Discouraged and lonely, he began to wonder. If Jesus were truly the Messiah, why did He allow His forerunner to languish in prison? Like many great men of God, John suffered a temporary lapse of faith. So he sent two of his disciples to ask if Jesus really was the One the prophets had promised, or if they should still be looking for the Anointed One.

11:4, 5 Jesus answered by reminding John that He was performing the miracles predicted of the Messiah: The blind see (Isa. 35:5); the lame walk (Isa. 35:6); lepers are cleansed (Isa. 53:4, cf. Matt. 8:16, 17); the deaf hear (Isa. 35:5); the dead are raised up (not prophesied of the Messiah; it was greater than the predicted miracles). Jesus also reminded John that the gospel was being preached to the poor in fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61:1. Ordinary religious leaders often concentrate their attention on the wealthy and aristocratic. The Messiah brought good news to the poor.

11:6 Then the Savior added, “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” On other lips this would be the boast of a supreme egotist. On Jesus’ lips, it is the valid expression of His personal perfection. Instead of appearing as a colorful military general, the Messiah had come as a humble Carpenter. His gentleness, lowliness, and humiliation were out of character with the prevailing image of the militant Messiah. Men who were guided by fleshly desires might doubt His claim to kingship. But God’s blessing would rest on those who, by spiritual insight, recognized Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah.

Verse 6 should not be interpreted as a rebuke to John the Baptist. Everyone’s faith needs to be confirmed and strengthened at times. It is one thing to have a temporary lapse of faith and quite another to be permanently stumbled as to the true identity of the Lord Jesus. No single chapter is the story of a man’s life. Taking John’s life in its totality, we find a record of faithfulness and perseverance.

11:7, 8 As soon as John’s disciples departed with Jesus’ words of reassurance, the Lord turned to the multitudes with words of glowing praise for the Baptist. This same crowd had flocked to the desert when John was preaching there. Why? To see some weak, vacillating reed of a man, shaken by every passing wind of human opinion? Certainly not! John was a fearless preacher, an embodied conscience, who would rather suffer than be silent, and rather die than lie. Had they gone out to see a well-dressed palace courtier, luxuriating in comfort? Certainly not! John was a simple man of God whose austere life was a rebuke to the enormous worldliness of the people.

11:9 Had they gone out to see a prophet? Well, John was a prophet—in fact, the greatest of the prophets. The Lord did not imply here that he was greater as to his personal character, eloquence, or persuasiveness; he was greater because of his position as forerunner of the Messiah-King.

11:10 This is made clear in verse 10; John was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy (3:1)—the messenger who would precede the Lord and prepare the people for His coming. Other men had prophesied the Coming of Christ, but John was the one chosen to announce His actual arrival. It has been well said, “John opened the way for Christ and then he got out of the way for Christ.”

11:11 The statement that “he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” proves that Jesus was speaking of John’s privilege, not his character. A person who is least in the kingdom of heaven does not necessarily have a better character than John, but he does have greater privilege. To be a citizen of the kingdom is greater than to announce its arrival. John’s privilege was great in preparing the way for the Lord, but he did not live to enjoy the blessings of the kingdom.

11:12 From the opening of John’s ministry to his present imprisonment the kingdom of heaven had suffered violence. The Pharisees and scribes had vigorously opposed it. Herod the king had done his part to buffet the kingdom by seizing its herald.

“ … And the violent take it by force.” This statement is capable of two interpretations. First, the foes of the kingdom did their best to take the kingdom in order to destroy it. Their rejection of John foreshadowed the rejection of the King Himself and thus of the kingdom. But it may also mean that those who were ready for the King’s advent responded vigorously to the announcement and strained every muscle to enter. This is the meaning in Luke 16:16: “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and every one is pressing into it.” Here the kingdom is pictured as a besieged city, with all classes of men hammering at it from the outside, trying to get in. A certain spiritual violence is necessary.

Whichever meaning one adopts, the thought is that John’s preaching touched off a violent reaction, with widespread and deep effects.

11:13 “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” The entire volume from Genesis to Malachi predicted the coming of the Messiah. When John stepped out on the stage of history, his unique role was not just prophecy; it was announcing the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning Christ’s First Advent.

11:14 Malachi had predicted that before Messiah’s appearance, Elijah would come as a forerunner (Mal. 4:5, 6). If the people had been willing to receive Jesus as Messiah, John would have filled the role of Elijah. John was not Elijah reincarnated—he disclaimed being Elijah in John 1:21. But he went before Christ in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).

11:15 Not all appreciated John the Baptist or understood the deep significance of his ministry. Therefore the Lord added, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” In other words, pay heed. Don’t miss the significance of what you are hearing. If John fulfilled the prophecy concerning Elijah, then Jesus was the promised Messiah! In thus accrediting John the Baptist, Jesus was reaffirming His claim to be the Christ of God. To accept one would lead to acceptance of the other.

11:16, 17 But the generation to whom Jesus was speaking was not interested in accepting either. The Jews who were privileged to see the Advent of their Messiah-King had no relish for Him or His forerunner. They were a conundrum. Jesus compared them to peevish children sitting in the marketplaces who refused to be satisfied with any overtures. If their friends wanted to pipe so they could dance, they refused. If their friends wanted to play-act a funeral, they refused to lament.

11:18, 19 John came as an ascetic, and the Jews accused him of being demon-possessed. The Son of Man, on the other hand, ate and drank in a normal manner. If John’s asceticism made them uncomfortable, then surely they would be pleased with Jesus’ more ordinary eating habits. But no! They called Him a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Of course, Jesus never ate or drank to excess; their charge was a total fabrication. It is true that He was a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but not in the way they meant. He befriended sinners in order to save them from their sins, but He never shared or approved their sins.

“But wisdom is justified by her children.” The Lord Jesus, of course, is Wisdom personified (1 Cor. 1:30). Though unbelieving men might slander Him, He is vindicated in His works and in the lives of His followers. Though the mass of the Jews might refuse to acknowledge Him as Messiah-King, His claims were completely verified by His miracles and by the spiritual transformation of His devoted disciples.

B. Woes on the Unrepentant Cities of Galilee (11:20–24)

11:20 Great privilege brings great responsibility. No cities were ever more privileged than Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. The incarnate Son of God had walked their dusty lanes, taught their favored people, and performed most of His mighty works within their walls. In the face of this overwhelming evidence, they had stubbornly refused to repent. Little wonder, then, that the Lord should pronounce the most solemn doom upon them.

11:21 He began with Chorazin and Bethsaida. These cities had heard the gracious entreaties of their Savior-God, yet willfully turned Him away. His mind reverted to the cities of Tyre and Sidon which had fallen under the judgment of God because of their idolatry and wickedness. If they had been privileged to see the miracles of Jesus, they would have humbled themselves in deepest repentance. In the day of judgment, therefore, Tyre and Sidon would fare better than Chorazin and Bethsaida.

11:22 The words “it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment” indicate that there will be degrees of punishment in hell, just as there will be degrees of reward in heaven (1 Cor. 3:12–15). The single sin that consigns men to hell is refusal to submit to Jesus Christ (John 3:36b). But the depth of suffering in hell is conditional on the privileges spurned and the sins indulged.

11:23, 24 Few cities had been as favored as Capernaum. It became Jesus’ home town after His rejection at Nazareth (9:1, cf. Mark 2:1–12), and some of His most extraordinary miracles—irrefutable evidences of His Messiahship—were performed there. Had vile Sodom, the capital of homosexuality, been so privileged, it would have repented and been spared. But Capernaum’s privilege was greater. Its people should have repented and gladly acknowledged the Lord. But Capernaum missed its day of opportunity. Sodom’s sin of perversion was great. But no sin is greater than Capernaum’s rejection of the holy Son of God. Therefore, Sodom will not be punished as severely as Capernaum in the day of judgment. Lifted up to heaven in privilege, Capernaum will be brought down to Hades in judgment. If this is true of Capernaum, how much truer of places where Bibles abound, where the gospel is broadcast, and where few, if any, have an excuse.

In the days of our Lord, there were four prominent cities in Galilee: Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Tiberias. He pronounced woes against the first three but not Tiberias. What has been the result? The destruction of Chorazin and Bethsaida is so complete that their exact sites are unknown. The location of Capernaum is not positive. Tiberias still stands. This remarkable fulfillment of prophecy is one more evidence of the Savior’s omniscience and the Bible’s inspiration.

C. The Savior’s Reaction to Rejection (11:25–30)

11:25, 26 The three cities of Galilee had neither eyes to see nor heart to love the Christ of God. He knew their attitude was but a foretaste of rejection on a wider scale. How did He react to their impenitance? Not with bitterness, cynicism, or vindictiveness. Rather He lifted His voice in thanks to God that nothing could frustrate His sovereign purposes. “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”

We should avoid two possible misunderstandings. First, Jesus was not expressing pleasure in the inevitable judgment of the Galilean cities. Secondly, He did not imply that God had high-handedly withheld the light from the wise and prudent.

The cities had every chance to welcome the Lord Jesus. They deliberately refused to submit to Him. When they refused the light, God withheld the light from them. But God’s plans will not fail. If the intelligentsia will not believe, then God will reveal Him to humble hearts. He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty (Luke 1:53).

Those who consider themselves too wise and understanding to need Christ become afflicted with judicial blindness. But those who admit their lack of wisdom receive a revelation of Him “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Jesus thanked the Father for ordaining that if some would not have Him, others would. In the face of titanic unbelief He found consolation in the overruling plan and purpose of God.

11:27 All things had been delivered to Christ by His Father. This would be a presumptuous claim from anyone else, but from the Lord Jesus it is a simple statement of truth. At that moment, with opposition mounting, it did not appear that He was in control; nonetheless it was true. The program of His life was moving irresistibly toward eventual glorious triumph. “No one knows the Son except the Father.” There is incomprehensible mystery about the Person of Christ. The union of deity and humanity in one Person raises problems that boggle the human mind. For instance, there is the problem of death. God cannot die. Yet Jesus is God and Jesus died. And yet His divine and human natures are inseparable. So although we can know Him and love Him and trust Him, there is a sense in which only the Father can truly understand Him.

But the high myst’ries of Thy Name

The creature’s grasp transcend;

The Father only (glorious claim!)

The Son can comprehend.

Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou,

That every knee to Thee should bow!

—Josiah Conder

“Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” The Father, too, is inscrutable. Ultimately, only God is great enough to understand God. Man cannot know Him by his own strength or intellect. But the Lord Jesus can and does reveal the Father to those whom He chooses. Whoever comes to know the Son comes to know the Father also (John 14:7).

Yet, after saying all this, we must confess that in seeking to explain verse 27, we are dealing with truths too high for us. We see in a mirror dimly. Not even in eternity will our finite minds be able to fully appreciate the greatness of God or understand the mystery of the Incarnation. When we read that the Father is revealed only to those whom the Son chooses, we might be tempted to think of an arbitrary selection of a favored few. The following verse guards against such an interpretation. The Lord Jesus issues a universal invitation to all who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him for rest. In other words, the ones to whom He chooses to reveal the Father are those who trust Him as Lord and Savior. As we examine this invitation of infinite tenderness, let us remember that it was issued after the blatant rejection of Jesus by the favored cities of Galilee. Man’s hate and obstinacy could not extinguish His love and grace. A. J. McClain said:

Although the nation of Israel is moving toward the ordeal of divine judgment, the King in His final word throws open wide the door of personal salvation. And thus He proves that He is a God of grace, even on the threshold of judgment.19

11:28 Come. To come means to believe (Acts 16:31); to receive (John 1:12); to eat (John 6:35); to drink (John 7:37); to look (Isa. 45:22); to confess (1 Jn. 4:2); to hear (John 5:24, 25); to enter a door (John 10:9); to open a door (Rev. 3:20); to touch the hem of His garment (Matt. 9:20, 21); and to accept the gift of eternal life through Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23).

to Me. The object of faith is not a church, a creed, or a clergyman, but the living Christ. Salvation is in a Person. Those who have Jesus are as saved as God can make them.

all you who labor and are heavy laden. In order to truly come to Jesus, a person must admit that he is burdened with the weight of sin. Only those who acknowledge they are lost can be saved. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is preceded by repentance toward God.

and I will give you rest. Notice that rest here is a gift; it is unearned and unmerited. This is the rest of salvation that comes from realizing that Christ finished the work of redemption on Calvary’s cross. It is the rest of conscience that follows the realization that the penalty of one’s sins has been paid once for all and that God will not demand payment twice.

11:29 In verses 29 and 30, the invitation changes from salvation to service.

Take My yoke upon you. This means to enter into submission to His will, to turn over control of one’s life to Him (Rom. 12:1, 2).

and learn from Me. As we acknowledge His lordship in every area of our lives, He trains us in His ways.

for I am gentle and lowly in heart. In contrast to the Pharisees who were harsh and proud, the true Teacher is meek and lowly. Those who take His yoke will learn to take the lowest place.

and you will find rest for your souls. Here it is not the rest of conscience but the rest of heart that is found by taking the lowest place before God and man. It is also the rest that one experiences in the service of Christ when he stops trying to be great.

11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Again there is a striking contrast with the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matt. 23:4). Jesus’ yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter’s shop, it would have read, “My yokes fit well.”

His burden is light. This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom. J. H. Jowett says:

The fatal mistake for the believer is to seek to bear life’s load in a single collar. God never intended a man to carry his burden alone. Christ therefore deals only in yokes! A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord himself pleads to be One of the two. He wants to share the labor of any galling task. The secret of peace and victory in the Christian life is found in putting off the taxing collar of “self” and accepting the Master’s relaxing “yoke.”20

D. Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath (12:1–8)

12:1 This chapter records the mounting crisis of rejection. The rising malice and animosity of the Pharisees are now ready to spill over. The issue that opens the floodgates is the Sabbath question.

On this particular Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples were passing through the grainfields. His disciples began to pluck heads of grain and to eat them. The law permitted them to help themselves to grain from their neighbor’s field as long as they did not use a sickle (Deut. 23:25).

12:2 But the Pharisees, legal nit-pickers, charged that the Sabbath had been broken. Though their specific charges are not stated it is likely that they accused the disciples of: (1) harvesting (picking the grain); (2) threshing (rubbing it in their hands); (3) winnowing (separating the grain from the chaff).

12:3, 4 Jesus answered their ridiculous complaint by reminding them of an incident in the life of David. Once, when in exile, he and his men went into the wilderness and ate the showbread, twelve memorial loaves forbidden as food to any but the priests. Neither David nor his men were priests, yet God never found fault with them for doing this. Why not?

The reason is that God’s law was never intended to inflict hardship on His faithful people. It was not David’s fault that he was in exile. A sinful nation had rejected him. If he had been given his rightful place, he and his followers would not have had to eat the showbread. Because there was sin in Israel, God permitted an otherwise forbidden act.

The analogy is clear. The Lord Jesus was the rightful King of Israel, but the nation would not acknowledge Him as Sovereign. If He had been given His proper place, His followers would not have been reduced to eating in this way on the Sabbath or on any other day of the week. History was repeating itself. The Lord did not reprove His disciples, because they had done no wrong.

12:5 Jesus reminded the Pharisees that the priests profane the Sabbath by killing and sacrificing animals and by performing many other servile duties (Num. 28:9, 10), yet are blameless because they are engaged in the service of God.

12:6 The Pharisees knew that the priests worked every Sabbath in the temple without desecrating it. Why then should they criticize the disciples for acting as they did in the presence of One who is greater than the temple? The italicized word One can perhaps better read: “something greater than the temple is here.” The “something” is the kingdom of God, present in the Person of the King.

12:7 The Pharisees had never understood the heart of God. In Hosea 6:6 He had said, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” God puts compassion before ritual. He would rather see His people picking grain on the Sabbath to satisfy their hunger than observing the day so strictly as to inflict physical distress. If the Pharisees had only realized this, they would not have condemned the disciples. But they valued outward punctiliousness above human welfare.

12:8 Then the Savior added, “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” It was He who had instituted the law in the first place, and therefore He was the One most qualified to interpret its true meaning. E. W. Rogers says:

It seems as if Matthew, here taught by the Spirit, passes in quick review the many names and offices of the Lord Jesus: He is Son of Man; Lord of the Sabbath; My servant; My beloved; Son of David; greater than the temple; greater than Jonas; greater than Solomon. He does so in order to show the enormity of the sin of refusing to accept Him and accord Him His rights.21

Before proceeding with the next incident—Jesus healing the withered hand on the Sabbath—we pause to give a short review of the scriptural teaching concerning the Sabbath.

EXCURSUS ON THE SABBATH

The Sabbath day was, and always will be, the seventh day of the week (Saturday).

God rested on the seventh day, after the six days of creation (Gen. 2:2). He did not command man to keep the Sabbath day at that time, although He may have intended the principle—one day of rest in every seven—to be followed.

The nation of Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath when the Ten Commandments were given (Ex. 20:8–11). The law of the Sabbath was different from the other nine commandments; it was a ceremonial law while the others were moral. The only reason it was wrong to work on the Sabbath was because God said so. The other commandments had to do with things that were intrinsically wrong.

The prohibition against work on the Sabbath was never intended to apply to: the service of God (Matt. 12:5), deeds of necessity (Matt. 12:3, 4), or deeds of mercy (Matt. 12:11, 12). Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the NT, not as law but as instructions for Christians living under grace. The only commandment Christians are never told to keep is that of the Sabbath. Rather, Paul teaches that the Christian cannot be condemned for failing to keep it (Col. 2:16).

The distinctive day of Christianity is the first day of the week. The Lord Jesus rose from the dead on that day (John 20:1), a proof that the work of redemption had been completed and divinely approved. On the next two Lord’s Days, He met with His disciples (John 20:19, 26). The Holy Spirit was given on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1; cf. Lev. 23:15, 16). The early disciples met on that day to break bread, showing forth the Lord’s death (Acts 20:7). It is the day appointed by God on which Christians should set aside funds for the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 16:1, 2).

The Sabbath or seventh day came at the end of a week of toil; the Lord’s Day, or Sunday, begins a week with the restful knowledge that the work of redemption has been completed. The Sabbath commemorated the first creation; the Lord’s Day is linked with the new creation. The Sabbath day was a day of responsibility; the Lord’s Day is a day of privilege.

Christians do not “keep” the Lord’s Day as a means of earning salvation or achieving holiness, nor from fear of punishment. They set it apart because of loving devotion to the One who gave Himself for them. Because we are released from the routine, secular affairs of life on this day, we can set it apart in a special way for the worship and service of Christ.

It is not right to say that the Sabbath was changed to the Lord’s Day. The Sabbath is Saturday and the Lord’s Day is Sunday. The Sabbath was a shadow; the substance is Christ (Col. 2:16, 17). The resurrection of Christ marked a new beginning, and the Lord’s day signifies that beginning.

As a faithful Jew living under the law, Jesus kept the Sabbath (in spite of the accusations of the Pharisees to the contrary). As the Lord of the Sabbath, He freed it from the false rules and regulations with which it had become encrusted.

E. Jesus Heals on the Sabbath (12:9–14)

12:9 From the grainfields Jesus went into the synagogue. Luke tells us that the scribes and Pharisees were there to watch Him so that they might find some charge against Him (Luke 6:6, 7).

12:10 Inside the synagogue was a man who had a withered hand—mute testimony to the powerlessness of the Pharisees to help him. Up to now they had treated him with cool disregard. But suddenly he became valuable to them as a means to trap Jesus. They knew that the Savior was always predisposed to alleviate human misery. If He would heal on the Sabbath, then they would catch Him in a punishable offense, they thought. So they began by raising a legal quibble: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

12:11 The Savior answered by asking if they would pull one of their sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. Of course they would! But why? Perhaps their pretext was that it was a work of mercy—but another consideration might be that the sheep was worth money and they would not want to incur financial loss, even on the Sabbath.

12:12 Our Lord reminded them that a man is of greater value than a sheep. If it is right to show mercy to an animal, how much more justified is it to do good to a man on the Sabbath!

12:13, 14 Having caught the Jewish leaders in the pit of their own greed, Jesus healed the withered hand. In telling the man to stretch out his hand, faith and human will were called into action. Obedience was then rewarded with healing. The hand was restored as whole as the other by the wonderful Creator. You would think that the Pharisees would have been happy that the man, whom they had neither the power nor inclination to help, was healed. Instead they went into a white rage against Jesus and plotted to kill Him. If they had had a withered hand, they would have been glad to be healed on any day of the week.

F. Healing for All (12:15–21)

12:15, 16 When Jesus knew the thoughts of His enemies, He withdrew. Yet wherever He went, the crowds gathered; and wherever the sick gathered, He healed them all. But He charged them not to publicize His miraculous cures, not to shield Himself from danger, but to avoid any fickle movement to make Him a popular revolutionary Hero. The divine schedule must be kept. His revolution would come, not by the shedding of Roman blood, but by the shedding of His own blood.

12:17, 18 His gracious ministry was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 41:9; 42:1–4. The prophet foresaw the Messiah as a gentle Conqueror. He pictures Jesus as the Servant whom Jehovah had chosen, the Beloved One in whom God’s soul was well pleased. God would put His Spirit upon Him—a prophecy fulfilled at the baptism of Jesus. And His ministry would reach beyond the confines of Israel; He would declare justice to the Gentiles. This latter note becomes more dominant as Israel’s “NO” grows louder.

12:19 Isaiah further predicted that the Messiah would not wrangle or cry out and His voice would not be heard in the streets. In other words, He would not be a political rabble-rouser, stirring up the populace. McClain writes:

This King who is God’s “servant” will not reach His rightful place of eminence by any of the usual means of carnal force or political demagoguery; nor yet by means of the supernatural forces at His command.22

12:20 He would not break a bruised reed or quench a smoking flax. He would not trample on the dispossessed or underprivileged in order to reach His goals. He would encourage and strengthen the broken-hearted, oppressed person. He would fan even a spark of faith into a flame. His ministry would continue till He would bring justice to victory. His humble, loving care for others would not be extinguished by the hate and ingratitude of men.

12:21 And in His name Gentiles will trust. In Isaiah this expression is worded “And the coastlands shall wait for His law,” but the meaning is the same. The coastlands refer to the Gentile nations. They are pictured as waiting for His reign so that they might be His loyal subjects. Kleist and Lilly praise this quotation from Isaiah as:

… one of the gems of the Gospel, a picture of Christ of great beauty … Isaiah pictures Christ’s union with the Father, His mission to instruct the nations, His gentleness in dealing with suffering humanity and His final victory: there is no hope for the world except in His Name. Christ—the Savior of the world—not expressed in dry, scholastic terms, but clothed in rich, oriental imagery.23

G. The Unpardonable Sin (12:22–32)

12:22–24 When Jesus healed a blind and mute demoniac, the common people began to think seriously that He might be the Son of David, the Messiah of Israel. This enraged the Pharisees. Unable to tolerate any suggestion of sympathy with Jesus, they exploded with the charge that the miracle had been performed by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. This ominous indictment was the first open accusation that the Lord Jesus was demon-empowered.

12:25, 26 When He had read their thoughts, Jesus proceeded to expose their folly. He pointed out that no kingdom, city, or house divided against itself can continue successfully. If He was casting out Satan’s demons by the power of Satan, then Satan was working against himself. This would be absurd.

12:27 Our Lord had a second devastating answer for the Pharisees. Some of their Jewish associates, known as exorcists, claimed to have the power to cast out demons. Jesus neither admitted nor denied their claim, but used it to point out that if He cast out demons by Beelzebub, then the Pharisees’ sons (i.e., these exorcists) did also. The Pharisees would never admit this but could not escape the logic of the argument. Their own associates would condemn them for implying that they exorcised as agents of Satan. Scofield said:

The Pharisees were quick enough to resent any implication of Satanic power as far as they and their sons were concerned, but on the ground they were taking, i.e., that Christ cast out demons by Beelzebub, their own sons would judge them inconsistent; for if the power to cast out demons is Satanic, then whoever exercises that power is in league with the source of that power.24

They were not being logical in attributing similar effects to different causes.

12:28 The truth, of course, was that Jesus cast out demons by the Spirit of God. His entire life as a Man on earth was lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was the Spirit-filled Messiah whom Isaiah had foretold (Isa. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1–3). Therefore He said to the Pharisees, “ … if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” This announcement must have been a crushing blow. They prided themselves on their theological knowledge, yet the kingdom of God had come upon them because the King was among them and they hadn’t even realized that He was there!

12:29 Far from being in league with Satan, the Lord Jesus was Satan’s Conqueror. This He illustrates by the story of the strong man. The strong man is Satan. His house is the sphere in which he holds sway. His goods are his demons. Jesus is the One who binds the strong man, enters his house, and plunders his goods. Actually the binding of Satan takes place in stages. It began during Jesus’ public ministry. It was decisively guaranteed by the death and resurrection of Christ. It will be true to a more marked degree during the King’s thousand-year reign (Rev. 20:2). Finally, it will be eternally true when he is cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). At the present time the devil does not seem to be bound; he still exercises considerable power. But his doom is determined and his time is short.

12:30 Then Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Their blasphemous attitude showed that the Pharisees were not with the Lord; therefore, they were against Him. By refusing to harvest with Him, they were scattering the grain. They had accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan while actually they themselves were the servants of Satan, seeking to frustrate the work of God.

In Mark 9:40, Jesus said, “ … he who is not against us is on our side.” This seems a flat reversal of His words here in Matthew 12:30. The difficulty is resolved when we see that in Matthew, it is a matter of salvation. A man is either for Christ or against Him; there is no neutrality. In Mark, the subject is service. There are wide differences among the disciples of Jesus—differences in local church fellowship, methods, and interpretation of doctrines. But here the rule is that if a man is not against the Lord, he is for Him and should be respected accordingly.

12:31, 32 These verses mark a crisis in Christ’s dealings with the leaders of Israel. He accuses them of committing the unpardonable sin by blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, that is, by charging that Jesus performed His miracles by the power of Satan rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit. In effect, this was calling the Holy Spirit Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.

There is forgiveness for other forms of sin and blasphemy. A man may even speak against the Son of Man and be forgiven. But to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is a sin for which there is no forgiveness in this age or in the millennial age to come. When Jesus said in this age, He was speaking of the days of His public ministry on earth. There is reasonable doubt whether the unpardonable sin can be committed today, because He is not bodily present performing miracles.

The unpardonable sin is not the same as rejecting the gospel; a man may spurn the Savior for years, then repent, believe, and be saved. (Of course, if he dies in unbelief, he remains unforgiven.) Nor is the unforgivable sin the same as backsliding; a believer may wander far from the Lord, yet be restored to fellowship in God’s family.

Many people worry that they have committed the unpardonable sin. Even if this sin could be committed today, the fact that a person is concerned is evidence that he is not guilty of it. Those who committed it were hard and unrelenting in their opposition to Christ. They had no qualms about insulting the Spirit and no hesitancy in plotting the death of the Son. They showed neither remorse nor repentance.

H. A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit (12:33–37)

12:33 Even the Pharisees should have admitted that the Lord had done good by casting out demons. Yet they accused Him of being evil. Here He exposes their inconsistency and says, in effect, “Make up your minds. If a tree is good, its fruit is good and vice versa.” Fruit reflects the quality of the tree that produced it. The fruit of His ministry had been good. He had healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, and the dumb, had cast out demons and raised the dead. Could a corrupt tree have produced such good fruit? Utterly impossible! Why then did they so stubbornly refuse to acknowledge Him?

12:34, 35 The reason was that they were a brood of vipers. Their malice against the Son of Man, evidenced by their venomous words, was the outflow of their evil hearts.25 A heart filled with goodness will be evidenced by words of grace and righteousness. A wicked heart expresses itself in blasphemy, bitterness, and abuse.

12:36 Jesus solemnly warned them (and us) that people will give account for every idle word they utter. Because the words people have spoken are an accurate guage of their lives, they will form a suitable basis for condemnation or acquittal. How great will be the condemnation of the Pharisees for the vile and contemptuous words which they spoke against God’s Holy Son!

12:37 “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” In the case of believers, the penalty for careless speech has been paid through the death of Christ; however, our careless speech, unconfessed and unforgiven, will result in loss of reward at Christ’s Judgment Seat.

I. The Sign of the Prophet Jonah (12:38–42)

12:38 Despite all the miracles Jesus had performed, the scribes and Pharisees had the temerity to ask Him for a sign, implying that they would believe if He would prove Himself to be the Messiah! But their hypocrisy was transparent. If they had not believed as a result of so many wonders, why would they be convinced by one more? The attitude that demands miraculous signs as a condition for belief does not please God. As Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). In God’s economy, seeing follows believing.

12:39 The Lord addressed them as an evil and adulterous generation; evil because they were willfully blind to their own Messiah, adulterous because they were spiritually unfaithful to their God. Their Creator-God, a unique Person combining absolute deity and perfect humanity, stood in their midst speaking to them, yet they dared to ask Him for a sign.

12:40 He told them summarily that no sign would be given to them except the sign of the prophet Jonah, referring to His own death, burial, and resurrection. Jonah’s experience of being swallowed by the fish and then disgorged (Jon. 1:17; 2:10) prefigured the Lord’s passion and resurrection. His rising from among the dead would be the final, climactic sign of His ministry to the nation of Israel.

Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so our Lord predicted that He would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This raises a problem. If, as generally believed, Jesus was buried on Friday afternoon and rose again on Sunday morning, how can it be said that He was three days and nights in the tomb? The answer is that, in Jewish reckoning, any part of a day and night counts as a complete period. “A day and a night make an onah, and a part of an onah is as the whole” (Jewish saying).

12:41 Jesus depicted the guilt of the Jewish leaders by two contrasts. First, the Gentiles of Nineveh were far less privileged, yet when they heard the preaching of the errant prophet Jonah, they repented with deep grief. They will rise up in the judgment to condemn the men of Jesus’ day for failing to receive Someone greater than Jonah—the incarnate Son of God.

12:42 Second, the queen of Sheba, a Gentile outside the pale of Jewish privilege, traveled from the South, at great effort and expense, for an interview with Solomon. The Jews of Jesus’ day did not have to travel at all to see Him; He had traveled from heaven to their little neighborhood to be their Messiah-King. Yet they had no room in their lives for Him—One infinitely greater than Solomon. A Gentile queen will condemn them in the judgment for such wanton carelessness.

In this chapter our Lord has been presented as greater than the temple (v. 6); greater than Jonah (v. 41); and greater than Solomon (v. 42). He is “greater than the greatest and far better than the best.”

J. An Unclean Spirit Returns (12:43–45)

12:43, 44 Now Jesus gives, in parabolic form, a summary of the past, present, and future of unbelieving Israel. The man represents the Jewish nation, the unclean spirit the idolatry which characterized the nation from the time of its servitude in Egypt to the Babylonian captivity (which temporarily cured Israel of its idolatry). It was as if the unclean spirit had gone out of the man. From the end of the captivity to the present day, the Jewish people have not been idol-worshipers. They are like a house that is empty, swept, and put in order.

Over nineteen hundred years ago, the Savior sought admittance to that empty house. He was the rightful Occupant, the Master of the house, but the people steadfastly refused to let Him in. Though they no longer worshiped idols, they would not worship the true God either.

The empty house speaks of spiritual vacuum—a dangerous condition, as the sequel shows. Reformation is not enough. There must be the positive acceptance of the Savior.

12:45 In a coming day, the spirit of idolatry will decide to return to the house, accompanied by seven spirits more wicked than himself. Since seven is the number of perfection or completeness, this probably refers to idolatry in its fully developed form. This looks forward to the Tribulation when the apostate nation will worship the Antichrist. To bow down to the man of sin and to worship him as God is a more terrible form of idolatry than the nation has ever been guilty of in the past. And so the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Unbelieving Israel will suffer the awful judgments of the Great Tribulation, and their suffering will far exceed that of the Babylonian Captivity. The idolatrous portion of the nation will be utterly destroyed at Christ’s Second Advent.

“So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” The same apostate, Christ-rejecting race that spurned the Son of God at His First Advent will suffer severe judgment at His Second Coming.

K. The Mother and Brothers of Jesus (12:46–50)

These verses describe a seemingly commonplace incident in which Jesus’ family comes to speak to Him. Why had they come? Mark may give us a clue. Some of Jesus’ friends decided He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21, 31–35), and perhaps His family came to take Him away quietly (see also John 7:5). When told that His mother and brothers were waiting outside to speak with Him, the Lord responded by asking, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” Then, pointing to His disciples, He said “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

This startling announcement is pregnant with spiritual significance; it marks a distinct turning point in Jesus’ dealing with Israel. Mary and her sons represented the nation of Israel, Jesus’ blood relations. Up to now He had limited His ministry largely to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But it was becoming clear that His own people would not have Him. Instead of bowing to their Messiah, the Pharisees had accused Him of being controlled by Satan.

So now Jesus announces a new order of things. Henceforth, His ties with Israel would not be the controlling factor in His outreach. Though His compassionate heart would continue to plead with His countrymen according to the flesh, chapter 12 signals an unmistakable break with Israel. The outcome is now clear. Israel will not have Him, so He will turn to those who will. Blood relationships will be superseded by spiritual considerations. Obedience to God will bring men and women, whether Jews or Gentiles, into vital relationship with Him.

Before leaving this incident, we should mention two points concerning the mother of Jesus. First, it is evident that Mary did not occupy any place of special privilege as far as access into His presence was concerned.

Second, the mention of Jesus’ brothers strikes a blow at the teaching that Mary was a perpetual virgin. The implication is strong that these were actual sons of Mary and therefore half-brothers of our Lord. This view is strengthened by such other Scriptures as Psalm 69:8; Matt. 13:55; Mark 3:31, 32; 6:3; John 7:3, 5; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 9:5; Gal. 1:19.

VIII. THE KING ANNOUNCES A NEW INTERIM FORM OF THE KINGDOM DUE TO ISRAEL’S REJECTION (Chap. 13)

Parables of the Kingdom

We have come to a crisis point in the Gospel by Matthew. The Lord has indicated that earthly relationships are now to be superseded by spiritual ties, that it is no longer a question of Jewish birth but of obedience to God, the Father. In rejecting the King, the scribes and Pharisees have necessarily rejected the kingdom. Now by a series of parables, the Lord Jesus gives a preview of the new form which the kingdom would take during the period between His rejection and His eventual manifestation as King of kings and Lord of lords. Six of these parables begin with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like….”

In order to see these parables in proper perspective, let us review the kingdom as discussed in chapter 3. The kingdom of heaven is the sphere in which God’s rule is acknowledged. It has two aspects: (1) outward profession, including all who claim to recognize God’s rule; and (2) inner reality, including only those who enter the kingdom by conversion. The kingdom is found in five phases: (1) the OT phase in which it was prophesied; (2) the phase in which it was “at hand” or present in the Person of the King; (3) the interim phase, consisting of those on earth who profess to be His subjects following the King’s rejection and return to Heaven; (4) the manifestation of the kingdom during the Millennium; and (5) the final, everlasting, kingdom. Every Bible reference to the kingdom fits into one of these phases. It is the third, interim phase which chapter 13 discusses. During this phase the kingdom in its inner reality (true believers) is composed, from Pentecost to the Rapture, of the same people as the church. This is the only identity between the kingdom and the church; they are not otherwise one and the same.

With this background in mind, let us look at the parables.

A. The Parable of the Sower (13:1–9)

13:1 Jesus went out of the house where He had healed the demoniac and sat by the sea of Galilee. Many Bible students see the house as picturing the nation of Israel and the sea, the Gentiles. Thus the Lord’s movement symbolizes a break with Israel; during its interim form, the kingdom will be preached to the nations.

13:2 As great multitudes gathered on the beach, He got into a boat and began to teach the people by parables. A parable is a story with an underlying spiritual or moral teaching which is not always apparent immediately. The seven parables that follow tell us what the kingdom will be like during the time between His First and Second Advents.

The first four were spoken to the multitude; the last three were given only to the disciples. The Lord explained the first two and the seventh to the disciples, leaving them (and us) to interpret the others with the keys He had already given.

13:3 The first parable concerns a sower who planted his seed in four different types of soil. As might be expected, the results were different in each case.

13:4–8

SOIL	RESULTS
1. Hard-packed pathway.	1. Seeds eaten by the birds.
2. Thin layer of soil over rock deposit.	2. Seed sprouted quickly, but no root; scorched by the sun and withered away.
3. Ground infested with thorns.	3. The seed sprouted, but growth was impossible because of the thorns.
4. Good ground	4. The seed sprouted, grew, and yielded a crop: some stalks bore a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

13:9 Jesus closed the parable with the cryptic admonition, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” In the parable He was conveying an important message to the multitude, and a different message to the disciples. None should miss the significance of His words.

Since the Lord Himself interprets the parable in verses 18–23, we will restrain our curiosity until we reach that paragraph.

B. The Purpose of the Parables (13:10–17)

13:10 The disciples were puzzled that the Lord should speak to the people in the veiled language of parables. So they asked Him to explain His method.

13:11 In His reply, Jesus distinguished between the unbelieving crowd and the believing disciples. The crowd, a cross-section of the nation, was obviously rejecting Him, though their rejection would not be complete until the cross. They would not be permitted to know the mysteries (secrets) of the kingdom of heaven, whereas His true followers would be helped to understand.

A mystery in the NT is a fact never previously known by man, which man could never learn apart from divine revelation, but which has now been revealed. The mysteries of the kingdom are hitherto unknown truths concerning the kingdom in its interim form. The very fact that the kingdom would have an interim form had been a secret up to now. The parables describe some of the features of the kingdom during the time when the King would be absent. Some people therefore call this “the mystery form of the kingdom”—not that there is anything mysterious about it but simply that it was never known before that time.

13:12 It may seem arbitrary that these secrets should be withheld from the multitude and revealed to the disciples. But the Lord gives the reason: “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” The disciples had faith in the Lord Jesus; therefore, they would be given the capacity for more. They had accepted the light; therefore, they would receive more light. The Jewish nation, on the other hand, had rejected the Light of the world; therefore they were not only prevented from receiving more light, they would lose what little light they had. Light rejected is light denied.

13:13 Matthew Henry compares the parables to the pillar of cloud and fire which enlightened Israel while confusing the Egyptians. The parables would be revealed to those who were sincerely interested but would prove “only an irritation to those who were hostile to Jesus.”

So it was not a matter of whim on the Lord’s part, but simply the outworking of a principle which is built into all of life—willful blindness is followed by judicial blindness. That is why He spoke to the Jews in parables. H. C. Woodring put it so: “Because they did not have the love of the truth, they would not get the light of the truth.”26 They professed to see, that is, to be familiar with divine truth, but Truth incarnate stood before them and they resolutely refused to see Him. They professed to hear God’s Word, but the living Word of God was in their midst and they would not obey Him. They were unwilling to understand the wonderful fact of the Incarnation; therefore, the capacity to understand was taken from them.

13:14, 15 They were a living fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9, 10. Israel’s heart had grown dull and their ears were insensitive to the voice of God. They deliberately refused to see with their eyes. They knew that if they saw, heard, understood, and repented, God would heal them. But in their sickness and need, they refused His help. Therefore, their punishment was that they would hear but not understand, and see but not perceive.

13:16, 17 The disciples were tremendously privileged because they were seeing what no one had seen before. The prophets and righteous men of the OT had longed to be living when the Messiah arrived, but their desire had not been fulfilled. The disciples were favored to live at that crisis moment in history, to see the Messiah, to witness His miracles, and to hear the incomparable teaching which came from His lips.

C. Explanation of the Parable of the Sower (13:18–23)

13:18 Having explained why He used parables, the Lord now proceeds to expound the parable of the four soils. He does not identify the sower, but we can be sure that it refers either to Himself (v. 37) or to those who preach the message of the kingdom. He defines the seed as the word of the kingdom (v. 19). The soils represent those who hear the message.

13:19 The hard-packed pathway speaks of people who refuse to receive the message. They hear the gospel but do not understand it—not because they can’t but because they won’t. The birds are a picture of Satan; he snatches away the seed from the hearts of these hearers. He cooperates with them in their self-chosen barrenness. The Pharisees were hard-soil hearers.

13:20, 21 When Jesus spoke of rocky ground, He had in mind a thin layer of earth covering a ledge of rock. This represents people who hear the word and respond with joy. At first the sower might be elated that his preaching is so successful. But soon he learns the deeper lesson, that it is not good when the message is received with smiles and cheers. First there must be conviction of sin, contrition, and repentance. It is far more promising to see an inquirer weeping his way to Calvary than to see him walking down the aisle light-heartedly and exuberantly. The shallow earth yields a shallow profession; there is no depth to the root. But when his profession is tested by the scorching sun of tribulation or persecution, he decides it isn’t worth it and abandons any profession of subjection to Christ.

13:22 The thorn-infested ground represents another class who hear the word in a superficial way. They appear outwardly to be genuine subjects of the kingdom, but in time their interest is choked out by the cares of this world and by their delight in riches. There is no fruit for God in their lives. Lang illustrates this by a son of a money-loving father with a huge business. This son heard the Word in his youth but became engrossed in the business.

He had soon to choose between pleasing his Lord or his father. Thus the thorns were in the soil when the seed was sown and germinated; the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches were already at hand. He fell in with his father’s wishes, devoted himself fully to business, rose to be head of the concern, and when well on in life had to acknowledge that he had neglected things heavenly. He was about to retire and he expressed his intention to be more diligent in matters spiritual. But God is not to be mocked. The man retired and died suddenly in only a few months. He left £90,000 and a spiritually wasted life. The thorns had choked the word and it was unfruitful.27

13:23 The good ground represents a true believer. He … hears the word receptively and understands it through obeying what he hears. Although these believers do not all produce the same amount of fruit, they all show by their fruit that they have divine life. Fruit here is probably the manifestation of Christian character rather than souls won to Christ. When the word fruit is used in the NT, it generally refers to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).

What was the parable meant to say to the crowds? Obviously it warned against the peril of hearing without obeying. It was calculated also to encourage individuals to receive the Word sincerely, then to prove their reality by bringing forth fruit for God. As for the disciples, the parable prepared them and future followers of Jesus for the otherwise discouraging fact that relatively few of those who hear the message are genuinely saved. It saves Christ’s loyal subjects from the delusion that all the world will be converted through the spread of the gospel. The disciples are also warned in this parable against the three great antagonists of the gospel: (1) the devil (the birds—the evil one); (2) the flesh (the scorching sun—tribulation or persecution); and (3) the world (the thorns—cares of the world and the delight in riches).

Finally the disciples are given a vision as to the tremendous returns from investing in human personality. Thirtyfold is 3,000 percent return, sixtyfold is 6,000 percent return, and one hundredfold is 10,000 percent return on the investment. There is actually no way of measuring the results of a single case of genuine conversion. An obscure Sunday school teacher invested in Dwight L. Moody. Moody won others. They in turn won others. The Sunday school teacher started a chain reaction that will never stop.

D. The Parable of the Wheat and Tares (13:24–30)

The preceding parable was a vivid illustration of the fact that the kingdom of heaven includes those who give only lip service to the King as well as those who are His genuine disciples. The first three soils typify the kingdom in its widest circle—outward profession. The fourth soil represents the kingdom as a smaller circle—those who have been truly converted.

13:24–26 The second parable—the wheat and the tares—also sets forth the kingdom in these two aspects. The wheat depicts true believers; the tares are mere professors. Jesus compares the kingdom to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. Unger says that the most common tare found in grainfields in the Holy Land is bearded darnel, “a poisonous grass, almost indistinguishable from wheat while the two are growing into blade. But when they come into ear, they can be separated without difficulty.”28

13:27, 28 When the servants saw the tares mixed in with the grain, they asked the householder how this happened. He immediately recognized it as the work of an enemy. The servants were ready to pull the weeds immediately.

13:29, 30 But the farmer ordered them to wait until the harvest. Then reapers would separate the two. The grain would be gathered into barns and the darnel would be burned.

Why did the farmer order this delay in separation? In nature the roots of the grain and darnel are so intertwined that it is virtually impossible to pull up one without the other.

This parable is explained by our Lord in verses 37–43, so we will forego further comment till then.

E. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (13:31, 32)

Next the Savior likens the kingdom to a mustard seed which He called the smallest of seeds, that is, smallest in the experience of His listeners. When a man planted one of these seeds, it grew into a tree, a growth that is phenomenal. The normal mustard plant is more like a bush than a tree. The tree was large enough for birds to nest in its branches

The seed represents the humble beginning of the kingdom. At first the kingdom was kept relatively small and pure as a result of persecution. But with the patronage and protection of the state, it suffered abnormal growth. Then the birds came and roosted in it. The same word for birds is used here as in verse 4; Jesus explained the birds as meaning the evil one (v. 19). The kingdom became a nesting place for Satan and his agents. Today the umbrella of Christendom covers such Christ-denying systems as Unitarianism, Christian Science, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Unification Church (moonies).

So here the Lord forewarned the disciples that during His absence the kingdom would experience a phenomenal growth. They should not be deceived nor equate growth with success. It would be unhealthy growth. Though the tiny seed would become an abnormal tree, its largeness would become “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird” (Rev. 18:2).

F. The Parable of the Leaven (13:33)

Next the Lord Jesus compared the kingdom to leaven which a woman hid in three measures of meal. Eventually all the meal became leavened. A common interpretation is that the meal is the world and the leaven is the gospel which will be preached throughout the world until everyone becomes saved. This view, however, is contradicted by Scripture, by history, and by current events.

Leaven is always a type of evil in the Bible. When God commanded His people to rid their houses of leaven (Ex. 12:15), they understood this. If anyone ate what was leavened from the first till the seventh day of this Feast of Unleavened Bread, he would be cut off from Israel. Jesus warned against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt. 16:6, 12) and the leaven of Herod (Mark 8:15). In 1 Corinthians 5:6–8 leaven is defined as malice and evil, and the context of Galatians 5:9 shows that there it means false teaching. In general, leaven means either evil doctrine or evil behavior.

So in this parable the Lord warns against the permeating power of evil working in the kingdom of heaven. The parable of the mustard seed shows evil in the external character of the kingdom; this parable shows the inward corruption that would take place.

We believe that in this parable the meal represents the food of God’s people as it is found in the Bible. The leaven is evil doctrine. The woman is a false prophetess who teaches and beguiles (Rev. 2:20). Is it not significant that women have been the founders of several false cults? Forbidden by the Bible to teach in the church (1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:12), some have defiantly taken the place of doctrinal authorities and have adulterated the food of God’s people with destructive heresies.

J. H. Brookes says:

If the objection is raised that Christ would not liken the kingdom of heaven to that which is evil, it is sufficient to reply that He likens the kingdom to that which includes both tares and wheat, which encloses both good and bad fish, which extends over a wicked servant (Matt. xviii 23–32), which admits into it a man who had not on a wedding garment, and who was lost (Matt. xxii 1–13).29

G. The Use of Parables Fulfills Prophecy (13:34, 35)

Jesus spoke the first four parables to the multitude. The use of this teaching method by the Lord fulfilled Asaph’s prophecy in Psalm 78:2 that the Messiah would speak in parables, uttering things kept secret from the foundation of the world. These features of the kingdom of heaven in its interim form, hidden until this time, were now being made known.

H. Explanation of the Parable of the Tares (13:36–43)

13:36 The remainder of the Lord’s discourse was spoken to the disciples, inside the house. Here the disciples may represent the believing remnant of the nation of Israel. The renewed mention of the house reminds us that God has not rejected forever His people whom He foreknew (Rom. 11:2).

13:37 In His interpretation of the wheat and tares parable, Jesus identified Himself as the sower. He sowed directly during His earthly ministry, and has been sowing through His servants in succeeding ages.

13:38 The field is the world. It is important to emphasize that the field is the world, not the church. The good seeds mean the sons of the kingdom. It might seem bizarre and incongruous to think of living human beings being planted into the ground. But the point is that these sons of the kingdom were sown in the world. During His years of public ministry, Jesus sowed the world with disciples who were loyal subjects of the kingdom. The tares are the sons of the wicked one. Satan has a counterfeit for every divine reality. He sows the world with those who look like, talk like, and, to some extent, walk like disciples. But they are not genuine followers of the King.

13:39 The enemy is Satan, the enemy of God and all the people of God. The harvest is the end of the age, the end of the kingdom age in its interim form, which will be when Jesus Christ returns in power and glory to reign as King. The Lord is not referring to the end of the church age; it leads only to confusion to introduce the church here.

13:40–42 The reapers are the angels (see Rev. 14:14–20). During the present phase of the kingdom, no forcible separation is made of the wheat and the darnel. They are allowed to grow together. But at the Second Advent of Christ, the angels will round up all causes of sin and all evildoers and throw them into the furnace of fire, where they will weep and gnash their teeth.

13:43 The righteous subjects of the kingdom who are on earth during the Tribulation will enter the kingdom of their Father to enjoy the Millennial Reign of Christ. There they will shine forth as the sun; that is, they will be resplendent in glory.

Again Jesus adds the cryptic admonition, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

This parable does not justify, as some mistakenly suppose, the toleration of ungodly people in a local Christian church. Remember that the field is the world, not the church. Local churches are explicitly commanded to put out of their fellowship all who are guilty of certain forms of wickedness (1 Cor. 5:9–13). The parable simply teaches that in its mystery form, the kingdom of heaven will include the real and the imitation, the genuine and the counterfeit, and that this condition will continue until the end of the age. Then God’s messengers will separate the false, who will be taken away in judgment, from the true, who will enjoy the glorious reign of Christ on earth.

I. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (13:44)

All the parables so far have taught that there will be good and evil in the kingdom, righteous and unrighteous subjects. The next two parables show that there will be two classes of the righteous subjects: (1) believing Jews during the periods before and after the Church Age; (2) believing Jews and Gentiles during the present age.

In the parable of the treasure, Jesus compares the kingdom to treasure hidden in a field. A man finds it, covers it up, then gladly sells all he has and buys that field.

We would suggest that the man is the Lord Jesus Himself. (He was the man in the parable of the wheat and tares, v. 37.) The treasure represents a godly remnant of believing Jews such as existed during Jesus’ earthly ministry and will exist again after the church is raptured (see Psalm 135:4 where Israel is called God’s peculiar treasure). They are hidden in the field in that they are dispersed throughout the world and in a real sense unknown to any but God. Jesus is pictured as discovering this treasure, then going to the cross and giving all that He had in order to buy the world (2 Cor. 5:19; 1 Jn. 2:2) where the treasure was hidden. Redeemed Israel will be brought out of hiding when her Deliverer comes out of Zion and sets up the long-awaited Messianic Kingdom.

The parable is sometimes applied to a sinner, giving up all in order to find Christ, the greatest Treasure. But this interpretation violates the doctrine of grace which insists that salvation is without price (Isa. 55:1; Eph. 2:8, 9).

J. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price (13:45, 46)

The kingdom is also likened to a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. When he finds a pearl of unusually great value, he sacrifices all he has to buy it.

In a hymn that says, “I’ve found the Pearl of greatest price,” the finder is the sinner and the Pearl is the Savior. But again we protest that the sinner does not have to sell all and does not have to buy Christ.

We rather believe that the merchant is the Lord Jesus. The pearl of great price is the church. At Calvary He sold all that He had to buy this pearl. Just as a pearl is formed inside an oyster through suffering caused by irritation, so the church was formed through the piercing and wounding of the body of the Savior.

It is interesting that in the parable of the treasure, the kingdom is likened to the treasure itself. Here the kingdom is not likened to the pearl but to the merchantman. Why this difference?

In the preceding parable, the emphasis is on the treasure—redeemed Israel. The kingdom is closely linked with the nation of Israel. It was originally offered to that nation, and, in its future form, the Jewish people will be its principal subjects.

As we have mentioned, the church is not the same as the kingdom. All who are in the church are in the kingdom in its interim form, but not all who are in the kingdom are in the church. The church will not be in the kingdom in its future form but will reign with Christ over the renewed earth. The emphasis in the second parable is on the King Himself and the tremendous price He paid to woo and win a bride that would share His glory in the day of His manifestation.

As the pearl comes out of the sea, so the church, sometimes called the Gentile bride of Christ, comes largely from the nations. This does not overlook the fact that there are converted Israelites in it, but merely states that the dominant feature of the church is that it is a people called out from the nations for His Name. In Acts 15:14 James confirmed this as being the grand purpose of God at the present time.

K. The Parable of the Dragnet (13:47–50)

13:47, 48 The final parable in the series likens the kingdom to a sieve or dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. The fishermen sorted out the fish, keeping the good in containers and discarding the bad.

13:49, 50 Our Lord interprets the parable. The time is the end of the age, that is, the end of the Tribulation period. It is the time of the Second Advent of Christ. The fishermen are the angels. The good fish are the righteous, that is, saved people, both Jews and Gentiles. The bad fish are the unrighteous, namely, unbelieving people of all races. A separation takes place, as we also saw in the parable of the wheat and tares (vv. 30, 39–43). The righteous enter the kingdom of their Father, whereas the unrighteous are consigned to a place of fire where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. This is not the final judgment, however; this judgment takes place at the outset of the Millennium; the final judgment occurs after the thousand years are finished (Rev. 20:7–15).

Gaebelein comments on this parable as follows:

The dragnet is let into the sea, which, as we have seen before, represents the nations. The parable refers to the preaching of the everlasting gospel as it will take place during the great tribulation (Rev. 14:6, 7). The separating of the good and bad is done by angels. All this cannot refer to the present time nor to the church, but to the time when the kingdom is about to be set up. The angels will be used, as is so clearly seen in the book of Revelation. The wicked will be cast into the furnace of fire and the righteous will remain in the earth for the millennial kingdom.30

L. The Treasury of Truth (13:51, 52)

13:51 When He had finished the parables, the Master Teacher asked His disciples if they understood. They replied, “Yes.” This may surprise us, or even make us slightly jealous of them. Perhaps we cannot answer “yes” so confidently.

13:52 Because they understood, they were obligated to share with others. Disciples are to be channels, not terminals of blessings. The twelve were now scribes trained for the kingdom of heaven; that is, teachers and interpreters of the truth. They were like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old. In the OT they had a rich deposit of what we might call old truth. In the parabolic teaching of Christ, they had just received what was completely new. From this vast storehouse of knowledge they should now impart the glorious truth to others.

M. Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth (13:53–58)

13:53–56 Having finished these parables, Jesus left the shores of Galilee and went to Nazareth for His last visit there. As He taught them in their synagogue, the people were astonished at His wisdom and His reported miracles. To them He was only the carpenter’s son. They knew His mother was Mary … and His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas … and His sisters—they were still living there in Nazareth! How could one of their own hometown boys say and do the things for which He had become so well known? This puzzled them, and they found it easier to cling to their ignorance than to acknowledge the truth.

13:57, 58 They were offended at Him. This prompted Jesus to point out that a genuine prophet is generally more appreciated away from home. His own district and His own relatives allowed their familiarity to breed contempt. Unbelief largely hindered the Savior’s work in Nazareth. He healed only a few sick folk there (cf. Mark 6:5). It was not because He could not do the works; man’s wickedness cannot restrain God’s power. But He would have been blessing people where there was no desire for blessing, filling needs where there was no consciousness of need, healing people who would have resented being told they were sick.

IX. THE MESSIAH’S UNWEARIED GRACE MET BY MOUNTING HOSTILITY (14:1—16:12)

A. John the Baptist Beheaded (14:1–12)

14:1, 2 News of Jesus’ ministry flowed back to Herod the tetrarch. This infamous son of Herod the Great was also known as Herod Antipas. It was he who had ordered the execution of John the Baptist. When he heard of Christ’s miracles, his conscience began to stab him. The memory of the prophet whom he had beheaded kept coming before him. He told his servants, “It’s John. He has come back from the dead. That explains these miracles.”

14:3 In verses 3–12 we have what is known as a literary flashback. Matthew interrupts the narrative to review the circumstances surrounding the death of John.

14:4, 5 Herod had abandoned his wife and had been living in an adulterous, incestuous relationship with Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. As a prophet of God, John could not let this pass without rebuke. Indignantly and fearlessly, he pointed his finger at Herod and denounced him for his immorality.

The king was angry enough to kill him, but it was not politically expedient. The people acclaimed John as a prophet and would have reacted, perhaps violently, against John’s execution. So the tyrant satisfied his rage momentarily by having the Baptizer imprisoned. “The ungodly like religion in the same way that they like lions, either dead or behind bars; they fear religion when it breaks loose and begins to challenge their consciences.”31

14:6–11 On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias so pleased the king by her dancing that he impetuously offered her anything she wanted. Prompted by her wanton mother, she brazenly asked for John the Baptist’s head … on a platter! By now the king’s wrath against John had somewhat subsided; perhaps he even admired the prophet for his courage and integrity. But although he was sorry, he felt he had to fulfill his promise. The order was given. John was beheaded, and the gruesome request of the dancing girl was granted.

14:12 John’s disciples gave their master’s body a respectful burial, then went and told Jesus. They could not have gone to anyone better to pour out their grief and indignation. Nor could they have left us a better example. In times of persecution, oppression, suffering, and sorrow, we too should go and tell it to Jesus.

As for Herod, his crime was finished, but the memory lingered on. When he heard of Jesus’ activities, the entire episode returned to haunt him.

B. Feeding of the Five Thousand (14:13–21)

14:13, 14 When Jesus heard that Herod was troubled by reports of His miracles, He withdrew by boat to a secluded area by the Sea of Galilee. We can be sure He did not go because of fear; He knew that nothing could happen to Him before His time had come. We do not know the main reason for His move, but a lesser reason was that His disciples had just returned from their preaching mission (Mark 6:30; Luke 9:10) and needed a time of rest and quietness.

However, the crowds flocked from the towns and followed Him on foot. As He went ashore, they were waiting for Him. Far from being irritated by this intrusion, our compassionate Lord set to work immediately and healed their sick.

14:15 When evening came, that is, after 3:00 p.m., His disciples felt that a crisis was brewing. So many people, and nothing for them to eat! They asked Jesus to send the people into the villages where they could get food. How little they understood the heart of Christ or discerned His power!

14:16–18 The Lord assured them that there was no need. Why should the people leave the One who opens His hand and supplies the desire of every living thing? Then He caught the disciples off guard by saying, “You give them something to eat.” They were staggered. “Give them something to eat? We have nothing but five loaves and two fish.” They had forgotten that they also had Jesus. Patiently the Savior said, “Bring them here to Me.” That was their part.

14:19–21 We can picture the Lord directing the multitudes to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, He gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples for distribution. There was plenty for all. When all were satisfied, the disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. There was more left over when Jesus finished than when He began. Ironically enough there was a basket for each unbelieving disciple. And a multitude of perhaps 10,000 to 15,000 had been fed (5,000 men plus women and children).

The miracle is a spiritual lesson for disciples of every generation. The hungry multitude is always present. There is always a little band of disciples with seemingly pitiful resources. And always there is the compassionate Savior. When disciples are willing to give Him their little all, He multiplies it to feed thousands. The notable difference is that the five thousand men who were fed by Galilee had their hunger satisfied only for a short time; those today who feed upon the living Christ are satisfied forever (see John 6:35).

C. Jesus Walks on the Sea (14:22–33)

The previous miracle assured the disciples that they were following One who could abundantly provide for their needs. Now they learn that this One can protect and empower them as well.

14:22, 23 While He was dismissing the multitude, Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat and start back to the other side of the lake. Then He went up on a hillside to pray. When evening came (i.e., after sunset) He was alone there. (In Jewish reckoning there were two “evenings,” see Ex. 12:6 RSV marg. One, referred to in verse 15, began in mid-afternoon, and the other, referred to here, at sunset.)

14:24–27 Meanwhile, the boat was now far from land and battling a contrary wind. As the waves battered the boat, Jesus saw the disciples’ plight. In the fourth watch of the night (between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m.), He went to them walking on the sea. Thinking it was a ghost the disciples panicked. But immediately they heard the reassuring voice of their Master and Friend, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

How true to our own experience! We are often storm-tossed, perplexed, in despair. The Savior seems far away. But all the time He is praying for us. When the night seems darkest, He is near at hand. We often mistake Him even then and push the panic button. Then we hear His comforting voice and remember that the waves that caused us to fear are under His feet.

14:28 When Peter heard the well-known, well-loved voice, his affection and enthusiasm bubbled over. “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Rather than magnify Peter’s “if” as a sign of small faith, we should see his bold request as a mark of great trust. Peter sensed that Jesus’ commands are His enablements, that He gives strength for whatever He orders.

14:29–33 As soon as Jesus said, “Come,” … Peter jumped out of the boat and began walking toward Him. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to do the impossible; but the minute he became occupied with the strong wind, he began to sink. Frantically he cried, “Lord, save me!” The Lord took him by the hand, gently rebuked his little faith, and brought him to the boat. As soon as Jesus went on board, the wind ceased. A worship meeting took place in the boat with the disciples saying to Jesus, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

The Christian life, like walking on water, is humanly impossible. It can only be lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. As long as we look away from every other object to Jesus only (Heb. 12:2), we can experience a supernatural life. But the minute we become occupied with ourselves or our circumstances, we begin to sink. Then we must cry to Christ for restoration and divine enablement.

D. Jesus Heals in Gennesaret (14:34–36)

The boat docked at Gennesaret, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. As soon as the men spotted Jesus, they scoured the area for all who were sick and brought them to Him that the sick might only touch the hem of His garment; as many who did were made perfectly well. And so the doctors in that area had a holiday. For a while, at least, there were no sick people. The district experienced health and healing through a visit by the Great Physician.

E. Defilement Is from Within (15:1–20)

It is often pointed out that Matthew does not follow a chronological order during the early chapters. But from the beginning of chapter 14 to the end, events are largely given in the sequence in which they occurred.

In chapter 15 a dispensational order also emerges. First, the continued haggling and bickering of the Pharisees and scribes (vv. 1–20) anticipates Israel’s rejection of the Messiah. Second, the faith of the Canaanite woman (vv. 21–28) pictures the gospel going out to the Gentiles in this present age. And finally the healing of great crowds (vv. 29–31) and the feeding of 4,000 (vv. 32–39) point to the future millennial age with its world-wide health and prosperity.

15:1, 2 The scribes and Pharisees were unrelenting in their efforts to trap the Savior. A delegation of them came from Jerusalem, charging His disciples with uncleanness for eating with their hands unwashed, therefore violating the tradition of the elders.

In order to appreciate this incident, we must understand the references to clean and unclean, and must know what the Pharisees meant by washing. The whole conception of clean and unclean goes back to the OT. The uncleanness with which the disciples were charged was entirely a ceremonial matter. If a person touched a dead body, for instance, or if he ate certain things, he contracted ceremonial defilement—he was not ritually fit to worship God. Before he could approach God, the law of God required him to go through a cleansing ritual.

But the elders had added tradition to the cleansing rituals. They insisted, for instance, that before a Jew ate, he should put his hands through an elaborate cleansing process, washing not just the hands, but also the arms up to the elbows. If he had been in the marketplace, he was supposed to take a ceremonial bath. Thus, the Pharisees criticized the disciples for failing to observe the intricacies of the washings prescribed by Jewish tradition.

15:3–6 The Lord Jesus reminded His critics that they transgressed the commandment of God, not simply the tradition of the elders. The law commanded men to honor their parents, including supporting them financially if necessary. But the scribes and Pharisees (and many others) did not want to spend money for the support of their aged parents. So they devised a tradition by which to avoid their responsibility. When asked for help by father or mother, all they had to do was recite such words as these: “Any money which I have and which could be used to support you has been dedicated to God, and therefore I cannot give it to you,” and having recited this formula, they were free from financial responsibility to their parents. Following this devious tradition they had thus nullified the Word of God which commanded them to care for their parents.

15:7–9 By their crafty twisting of words they fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 29:13. They professed to honor God with their lips, but their heart was far from Him. Their worship was worthless because they were giving higher priority to the traditions of men than to the Word of God.

15:10, 11 Turning to the multitude, Jesus made a pronouncement of tremendous significance. He declared that not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but rather what comes out. We can scarcely appreciate the revolutionary character of this statement. Under the Levitical code, what went into the mouth did defile a man. The Jews were forbidden to eat the meat of any animal which did not chew the cud and have cloven hooves. They were not allowed to eat a fish unless it had scales and fins. Minute instructions were given by God as to foods that were clean or unclean.

Now the Law-giver paved the way for the abrogation of the whole system of ceremonial defilement. He said that the food which His disciples ate with unwashed hands did not defile them. But the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees—that was truly defiling.

15:12–14 When His disciples brought word that the Pharisees were offended by this denunciation, Jesus answered by comparing them to plants which had not been divinely planted. They were tares rather than wheat. They and their teachings would eventually be rooted up; that is, destroyed. Then He added, “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind.” Though professing to be authorities in spiritual matters, they were blind to spiritual realities as were the people they were leading. It was inevitable that both leaders and followers would fall into a ditch.

15:15 The disciples were undoubtedly shaken by this complete reversal of all they had been taught about clean and unclean foods. It was like a parable to them (i.e., an obscure, veiled narrative). Peter verbalized their unsettlement when he asked for an explanation.

15:16, 17 The Lord first expressed wonder that they were so slow to understand, then explained that true defilement is moral, not physical. Edible foods are not intrinsically clean or unclean. In fact, no material thing is evil in itself; it is the abuse of a thing that is wrong. The food man eats enters the mouth, goes into the stomach for digestion, then the unassimilated residue is eliminated. His moral being is not affected—only his body. Today we know that “every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4, 5). The passage is not speaking of poisonous plants, of course, but of foods designed by God for human consumption. All are good and should be eaten thankfully. If a person is allergic to some, or cannot tolerate others, he shouldn’t eat them, but in general we can eat with the assurance that God uses food to nourish us physically.

15:18 If food doesn’t defile, then what does? Jesus answered, “ … those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.” Here the heart is not the organ that pumps blood, but the corrupt source of human motives and desires. This part of man’s moral nature manifests itself by impure thoughts, then by depraved words, then by evil acts.

15:19, 20 Some of the things that defile a man are evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies (this Greek word includes slander of others).

The Pharisees and scribes were extremely careful concerning the ostentatious, punctilious observance of hand-washing ceremonies. But their inner lives were polluted. They majored in minors and overlooked the matters of real importance. They could criticize the disciples’ failure to keep uninspired traditions, yet plot to kill the Son of God and be guilty of the whole catalog of sin listed in verse 19.

F. A Gentile Is Blessed for Her Faith (15:21–28)

15:21, 22 Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon, on the Mediterranean coast. As far as we know, this was the only time during His public ministry that He was outside Jewish territory. Here in Phoenicia, a Canaanite woman asked Him to heal her daughter who was demon-possessed.

It is important to realize that this woman was not a Jewess, but a Gentile. She was descended from the Canaanites, an immoral race which God had marked for extinction. Through Israel’s disobedience, some had survived the invasion of Canaan under Joshua, and this woman was a descendant of the survivors. As a Gentile, she did not enjoy the privileges of God’s chosen earthly people. She was an alien, having no hope. Positionally she had no claim on God or the Messiah.

Speaking to Jesus, she addressed Him as the Lord, the Son of David, a title which the Jews used in speaking of the Messiah. Although Jesus was the Son of David, a Gentile had no right to approach Him on that basis. That is why He did not answer her at first.

15:23 His disciples came and urged Him to send her away; to them she was a nuisance. To Him she was a welcome example of faith and a vessel in whom His grace would shine. But first He must prove and educate her faith!

15:24, 25 He reminded her that His mission was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, not to Gentiles, and certainly not to Canaanites. She was undismayed by this apparent refusal. Dropping the title, Son of David, she worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” If she couldn’t come to Him as a Jew to her Messiah, she would come as a creature to her Creator.

15:26 To further probe the reality of her faith, Jesus told her that it was not good for Him to turn aside from feeding the Jewish children in order to give bread to Gentile dogs. If this sounds harsh to us, we should remember that, like the surgeon’s scalpel, it was not intended to hurt but to heal. She was a Gentile. The Jews looked upon the Gentiles as scavenging dogs, prowling the streets for scraps of food. However, Jesus here used the word for little pet dogs. The question was, “Would she acknowledge her unworthiness to receive the least of His mercies?”

15:27 Her reply was magnificent. She agreed with His description completely. Taking the place of an unworthy Gentile, she cast herself on His mercy, love, and grace. She said, in effect, “You are right! I am only one of the little dogs under the table. But I notice that crumbs sometimes fall from the table to the floor. Won’t You let me have some crumbs? I am not worthy that You should heal my daughter, but I beseech You to do it for one of Your undeserving creatures.”

15:28 Jesus commended her for her great faith. While the unbelieving children had no hunger for the bread, here was a self-confessed “doggie” crying out for it. Faith was rewarded; her daughter was healed instantly. The fact that our Lord healed this Gentile daughter at a distance suggests His present ministry at God’s right hand, bestowing spiritual healing on Gentiles during this age when His ancient people are set aside nationally.

G. Jesus Heals Great Multitudes (15:29–31)

In Mark 7:31 we learn that the Lord left Tyre, traveled north to Sidon, then eastward across the Jordan, south through the region of the Decapolis. There, near the Sea of Galilee, He healed the lame, the blind, the mute, the maimed, and many others. The astonished crowd glorified the God of Israel. The presumption is strong that this was a Gentile neighborhood. The people, associating Jesus and His disciples with Israel, correctly deduced that the God of Israel was working in their midst.

H. Feeding of the Four Thousand (15:32–39)

15:32 Careless (or critical) readers, confusing this incident with the feeding of the 5,000, have accused the Bible of duplication, contradiction, and miscalculation. The fact is that the two incidents are quite distinct, and supplement rather than contradict each other.

After three days with the Lord, the multitude had run out of food. He would not let them go away hungry; they might collapse on the way.

15:33, 34 Again His disciples became frustrated at the impossible task of feeding such a mob; this time they had only seven loaves and a few little fish.

15:35, 36 As in the case of the 5,000, Jesus seated the people, gave thanks, broke the loaves and fish and gave them to His disciples for distribution. He expects His disciples to do what they can; then He steps in and does what they can’t.

15:37–39 After the people were filled, there were seven large baskets of surplus food. The number fed was four thousand men, besides women and children.

In the next chapter, we shall see that the statistics relating to the two feeding miracles are significant (16:8–12). Every detail of the Bible narrative is charged with meaning. After dismissing the crowd, our Lord went by boat to Magdala, on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee.

I. The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (16:1–12)

16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees, traditional antagonists in theological matters, represented two doctrinal extremes. But their hostility gave way to cooperation as they united in a common aim to trip up the Savior. To test Him they asked Him to demonstrate a sign from heaven. In some way not clear to us, they were trying to inveigle Him into a compromising position. In asking for a sign from heaven, perhaps they were implying an opposite source for His previous miracles. Or perhaps they wanted some supernatural sign in the sky. All Jesus’ miracles had been performed on the earth. Could He do celestial miracles as well?

16:2, 3 He answered by continuing the theme of the sky. When they saw a red sky in the evening, they forecast fair weather for the next day. They also knew that a red, threatening sky in the morning meant storms for that day.32 They had expertise in interpreting the appearance of the sky, but they could not interpret the signs of the times.

What were these signs? The prophet who heralded the advent of the Messiah had appeared in the person of John the Baptist. The miracles prophesied of the Messiah—things no other man had ever done—had been performed in their presence. Another sign of the times was the obvious rejection of the Messiah by the Jews and the movement of the gospel to the Gentiles, all in fulfillment of prophecy. Yet in spite of this incontrovertible evidence, they had no sense of history being made or of prophecy being fulfilled.

16:4 In seeking for a sign when He Himself stood in their midst, the Pharisees and Sadducees exposed themselves as an evil, spiritually adulterous generation. No sign would now be given to them except the sign of the prophet Jonah. As explained in the notes on 12:39, this would be the resurrection of Christ on the third day. A wicked and adulterous generation would crucify its Messiah, but God would raise Him from the dead. This would be a sign of the doom of all who refuse to bow to Him as rightful Ruler.

The paragraph closes with the ominous words, “And He left them and departed.” The spiritual implications of the words should be obvious to all.

16:5, 6 When His disciples rejoined the Lord on the east side of the lake, they had forgotten to take food with them. Therefore when Jesus greeted them with a warning to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they thought He was saying, “Don’t go to those Jewish leaders for food supplies!” Their preoccupation with food caused them to look for a literal, natural explanation where a spiritual lesson was intended.

16:7–10 They were still worrying about a food shortage in spite of the fact that He who fed the 5,000 and the 4,000 was with them. So He reviewed the two miraculous feedings with them. The lesson that emerged concerned divine arithmetic and divine resourcefulness, for the less Jesus had to work with, the more He fed, and the more food there was left over. When there were only five loaves and two fish, He fed 5,000 plus and had twelve baskets of food left. With more loaves and fish, He fed only 4,000 plus and had left over only seven basketfuls. If we put our limited resources at His disposal, He can multiply them in inverse proportion to their amount. “Little is much if God is in it.”

A different word is used for baskets33 here than in the feeding of the 5,000. The seven baskets in this incident are considered to have been larger than the twelve on the previous occasion. But the underlying lesson remains: Why worry about hunger and want when we are linked with One who has infinite power and resources?

16:11, 12 In speaking of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the Lord had not referred to bread but to evil doctrine and conduct. In Luke 12:1 the leaven of the Pharisees is defined as hypocrisy. They professed to adhere to the Word of God in minutest details, yet their obedience was external and shallow. Inwardly they were evil and corrupt.

The leaven of the Sadducees was rationalism. The freethinkers of their day, they, like the liberals of today, had built a system of doubts and denials. They denied the existence of angels and spirits, the resurrection of the body, the immortality of the soul, and eternal punishment. This leaven of skepticism, if tolerated, will spread and permeate like yeast in meal.

X. THE KING PREPARES HIS DISCIPLES (16:13—17:27)

A. Peter’s Great Confession (16:13–20)

16:13, 14 Caesarea Philippi was about twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee and five miles east of the Jordan. When Jesus came to the surrounding villages (Mark 8:27), an incident generally recognized as the apex of His teaching ministry occurred. Up to this time He had been leading His disciples to a true apprehension of His Person. Having succeeded in this, He now turns His face resolutely to go to the cross.

He began by asking His disciples what men were saying as to His identity. The replies ran the gamut from John the Baptist, to Elijah, to Jeremiah, to one of the other prophets. To the average person He was one among many. Good but not the Best. Great but not the Greatest. A prophet but not the Prophet. This view would never do. It condemned Him with faint praise. If He were only another man He was a fraud because He claimed to be equal with God the Father.

16:15, 16 So He asked the disciples who they believed He was. This brought from Simon Peter the historic confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In other words, He was Israel’s Messiah and God the Son.

16:17, 18 Our Lord pronounced a blessing on Simon, son of Jonah. The fisherman had not arrived at this concept of the Lord Jesus through intellect or native wisdom; it had been supernaturally revealed to him by God the Father. But the Son had something important to say to Peter also. So Jesus added, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” We all know that more controversy has swirled around this verse than almost any other verse in the Gospel. The question is, “Who or what is the rock?” Part of the problem arises from the fact that the Greek words for Peter and for rock are similar, but the meanings are different. The first, petros, means a stone or loose rock; the second, petra, means rock, such as a rocky ledge. So what Jesus really said was “ … you are Peter (stone), and on this rock I will build My church.” He did not say He would build His church on a stone but on a rock.

If Peter is not the rock, then what is? If we stick to the context, the obvious answer is that the rock is Peter’s confession that Christ is the Son of the living God, the truth on which the church is founded. Ephesians 2:20 teaches that the church is built on Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone. Its statement that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets refers not to them, but to the foundation laid in their teachings concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is spoken of as a Rock in 1 Corinthians 10:4. In this connection, Morgan gives a helpful reminder:

Remember, He was talking to Jews. If we trace the figurative use of the word rock through Hebrew Scriptures, we find that it is never used symbolically of man, but always of God. So here at Caesarea Philippi, it is not upon Peter that the Church is built. Jesus did not trifle with figures of speech. He took up their old Hebrew illustration—rock, always the symbol of Deity—and said, “Upon God Himself—Christ, the Son of the living God—I will build my church.”34

Peter never spoke of himself as the foundation of the church. Twice he referred to Christ as a Stone (Acts 4:11, 12; 1 Pet. 2:4–8), but then the figure is different; the stone is the head of the corner, not the foundation.

“I will build My church.” Here we have the first mention of the church in the Bible. It did not exist in the OT. The church, still future when Jesus spoke these words, was formed on the Day of Pentecost and is composed of all true believers in Christ, both Jew and Gentile. A distinct society known as the body and bride of Christ, it has a unique heavenly calling and destiny.

We would scarcely expect the church to be introduced in Matthew’s Gospel where Israel and the kingdom are the prominent themes. However, consequent to Israel’s rejection of Christ, a parenthetical period—the church age—follows and will continue to the Rapture. Then God will resume His dealings with Israel nationally. So it is fitting that God should introduce the church here as the next step in His dispensational program after Israel’s rejection.

“The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” may be understood in two ways. First the gates of Hades are pictured in an unsuccessful offensive against the church—the church will survive all attacks upon it. Or the church itself may be pictured as taking the offensive and coming off the victor. In either case, the powers of death will be defeated by the translation of living believers and by the resurrection of the dead in Christ.

16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” does not mean that Peter was given authority to admit men to heaven. This has to do with the kingdom of heaven on earth—the sphere containing all who profess allegiance to the King, all who claim to be Christians. Keys speak of access or entrance. The keys which open the door to the sphere of profession are suggested in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19)—discipling, baptizing, and teaching. (Baptism is not necessary for salvation but is the initiatory rite by which men publicly profess allegiance to the King.) Peter first used the keys on the Day of Pentecost. They were not given to him exclusively, but as a representative of all the disciples. (See Matt. 18:18 where the same promise is given to them all.)

“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This and a companion passage in John 20:23 are sometimes used to teach that Peter and his supposed successors were given the authority to forgive sins. We know that this cannot be so; only God can forgive sins.

There are two ways of understanding the verse. First, it may mean that the apostles had power to bind and to loose that we do not have today. For example, Peter bound their sins on Ananias and Sapphira so that they were punished with instant death (Acts 5:1–10), while Paul loosed the disciplined man in Corinth from the consequences of his sin because the man had repented (2 Cor. 2:10).

Or the verse may mean that whatever the apostles bound or loosed on earth must have already been bound or loosed in heaven (see NKJV marg.). Thus Ryrie says, “Heaven, not the apostles, initiates all binding and loosing, while the apostles announce these things.”35

The only way in which the verse is true today is in a declarative sense. When a sinner truly repents of his sins and receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, a Christian can declare that person’s sins to be forgiven. When a sinner rejects the Savior, a Christian worker can declare his sins to be retained. William Kelly writes, “Whenever the Church acts in the name of the Lord and really does His will, the stamp of God is upon their deeds.”

16:20 Again we find the Lord Jesus commanding His disciples to tell no one that He was the Messiah. Because of Israel’s unbelief, no good could come from such a disclosure. And positive harm might come from a popular movement to crown Him King; such an ill-timed move would be ruthlessly crushed by the Romans.

Stewart, who calls this section the turning point of Jesus’ ministry, writes:

The day at Caesarea Philippi marks the watershed of the Gospels. From this point onward the streams begin to flow in another direction. The current of popularity which seemed likely in the earlier days of Jesus’ ministry to carry him to a throne has now been left behind. The tide sets toward the Cross…. At Caesarea, Jesus stood, as it were on a dividing line. It was like a hilltop from which he could see behind him all the road he had traveled and in front of him the dark, forbidding way awaiting him. One look he cast back to where the afterglow of happy days still lingered and then faced round and marched forward toward the shadows. His course was now set to Calvary.36

B. Preparing the Disciples for His Death and Resurrection (16:21–23)

16:21 Now that the disciples had realized that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, they were ready to hear His first direct prediction of His death and resurrection. They now knew that His cause could never fail; that they were on the winning side; that no matter what happened, triumph was assured. So the Lord broke the news to prepared hearts. He must go to Jerusalem, must suffer many things from the religious leaders, must be killed, and be raised the third day. The news was enough to spell the doom of any movement—all except that last imperative—must … be raised the third day. That made the difference!

16:22 Peter was indignant at the thought of his Master’s enduring such treatment. Catching hold of Him as if to block His path, he protested, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

16:23 This drew a rebuke from the Lord Jesus. He had come into the world to die for sinners. Anything or anyone who hindered Him from this purpose was out of tune with God’s will. So He said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” In calling Peter Satan, Jesus did not imply that the apostle was demon-possessed or Satan-controlled. He simply meant that Peter’s actions and words were what could be expected of Satan (whose name means adversary). By protesting against Calvary, Peter became a hindrance to the Savior.

Every Christian is called to take up his cross and follow the Lord Jesus, but when the cross looms in the pathway ahead, a voice within says, “Far be it from you! Save yourself.” Or perhaps the voices of loved ones seek to deflect us from the path of obedience. At such times, we too must say, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.”

C. Preparation for True Discipleship (16:24–28)

16:24 Now the Lord Jesus plainly states what is involved in being His disciple: denial of self, cross-bearing, and following Him. To deny self is not the same as self-denial; it means to yield to His control so completely that self has no rights whatever. To take up the cross means the willingness to endure shame, suffering, and perhaps martyrdom for His sake; to die to sin, self, and the world. To follow Him means to live as He lived with all that involves of humility, poverty, compassion, love, grace, and every other godly virtue.

16:25 The Lord anticipates two hindrances to discipleship. The first is the natural temptation to save oneself from discomfort, pain, loneliness, or loss. The other is to become wealthy. As to the first, Jesus warned that those who hug their lives for selfish purposes would never find fulfillment; those who recklessly abandon their lives to Him, not counting the cost, would find the reason for their existence.

16:26 The second temptation—that of getting rich—is irrational. “Suppose,” said Jesus, “that a man became so successful in business that he owned the whole world. This mad quest would absorb so much of his time and energy that he would miss the central purpose of his life. What good would it do to make all that money, then die, leave it all behind, and spend eternity empty-handed?” Man is here for bigger business than to make money. He is called to represent the interests of his King. If he misses that, he misses everything.

In verse 24, Jesus told them the worst. That is characteristic of Christianity; you know the worst at the outset. But you never cease discovering the treasures and the blessings. Barnhouse put it well:

When one has seen all that is forbidding in the Scriptures, there is nothing left hidden that can come as a surprise. Every new thing which we shall ever learn in this life or the next will come as a delight.37

16:27 Now the Lord reminds His own of the glory that follows the suffering. He points forward to His Second Advent when He will return to earth with His angels in the transcendent glory of His Father. Then He will reward those who live for Him. The only way to have a successful life is to project oneself forward to that glorious time, decide what will really be important then, and then go after that with all one’s strength.

16:28 He next made the startling statement that there were some standing there with Him who would not taste death before they saw Him coming in His kingdom. The problem, of course, is that those disciples have all died, yet Christ has not come in power and glory to set up His kingdom. The problem is solved if we disregard the chapter break and consider the first eight verses of the next chapter as an explanation of His enigmatic statement. These verses describe the incident on the Mount of Transfiguration. There Peter, James, and John saw Christ transfigured. They were actually privileged to have a preview of Christ in the glory of His kingdom.

We are justified in viewing Christ’s transfiguration as a prepicture of His coming kingdom. Peter describes the event as “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:16). The power and coming of the Lord Jesus refer to His Second Advent. And John speaks of the Mount experience as the time when “ … we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). Christ’s First Coming was in humiliation; it is His Second Coming that will be in glory. Thus, the prediction of verse 28 was fulfilled on the Mount; Peter, James, and John saw the Son of Man, no longer as the humble Nazarene, but as the glorified King.

D. Preparing the Disciples for Glory: The Transfiguration (17:1–8)

17:1, 2 Six days after the incident at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain, somewhere in Galilee. Many commentators attach significance to the six days. Gaebelein, for instance, says: “Six is a man’s number, the number signifying the days of work. After six days—after work and man’s day is run out then the day of the Lord, the Kingdom.”

When Luke says that the Transfiguration occurred “about eight days” later (9:28), he obviously includes the terminal days as well as the intervening days. Since eight is the number of resurrection and of a new beginning, it is fitting that Luke should identify the kingdom with a new beginning.

Peter, James, and John, who seem to have occupied a place of special nearness to the Savior, were privileged to see Him transfigured. Up to now His glory had been veiled in a body of flesh. But now His face and clothes became radiant like the sun and dazzling bright, a visible manifestation of His deity, just as the glory cloud or Shekinah in the OT symbolized the presence of God. The scene was a preview of what the Lord Jesus will be like when He comes back to set up His kingdom. He will no longer appear as the sacrificial Lamb but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. All who see Him will recognize Him immediately as God the Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

17:3 Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount and discussed His approaching death at Jerusalem (Luke 9:30, 31). Moses and Elijah may represent OT saints. Or, if we take Moses as representing the Law, and Elijah representing the Prophets, then here we see both sections of the OT pointing forward to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow. A third possibility is that Moses, who went to heaven by way of death, depicts all who will be raised from the dead to enter the Millennium, while Elijah, who was translated to heaven, pictures those who will reach the kingdom by the route of translation.

The disciples Peter, James, and John may represent NT saints in general. They could also foreshadow the faithful Jewish remnant who will be alive at the Second Advent and will enter the kingdom with Christ.

The multitude at the base of the mountain (v. 14, compare Luke 9:37) has been likened to the Gentile nations which will also share in the blessings of Christ’s thousand-year reign.

17:4, 5 Peter was deeply moved by the occasion; he had a real sense of history. Wanting to capture the splendor, he rashly suggested erecting three memorial tabernacles or booths—one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He was right in putting Jesus first, but wrong in not giving Him the preeminence. Jesus is not one among equals but Lord over all. In order to teach this lesson, God the Father covered them all with a brightly glowing cloud, then announced, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” In the Kingdom, Christ will be the peerless One, the supreme Monarch whose word will be the final authority. Thus it should be in the hearts of His followers at the present time.

17:6–8 Stunned by the glory cloud and by the voice of God, the disciples fell on their faces. But Jesus told them to get up and not to be afraid. As they rose, they saw no one but Jesus only. So it will be in the Kingdom—the Lord Jesus will be “all the glory in Immanuel’s land.”

E. Concerning the Forerunner (17:9–13)

17:9 Descending from the mountain, Jesus commanded the disciples to be silent about what they had seen until He had risen from the dead. The Jews, overanxious for anyone who might liberate them from the Roman yoke, would have welcomed Him to save them from Rome, but did not want Him as a Savior from sin. For all practical purposes, Israel had rejected her Messiah, and it was useless to tell the Jews of this vision of Messianic glory. After the resurrection, the message would be proclaimed worldwide.

17:10–13 The disciples had just seen a preview of Christ’s coming in power and glory. But His forerunner had not appeared. Malachi had prophesied that Elijah must come prior to Messiah’s advent (Mal. 4:5, 6), so His disciples asked Jesus about this. The Lord agreed that indeed Elijah had to come first as a reformer, but explained that Elijah had already come. Obviously He was referring to John the Baptist (see v. 13). John was not Elijah (John 1:21), but had come “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). Had Israel accepted John and his message, he would have fulfilled the role prophesied of Elijah (Matt. 11:14). But the nation did not recognize the significance of John’s mission, and treated him as it pleased. John’s death was an advance token of what they would do to the Son of Man. They rejected the forerunner; they would also reject the King. When Jesus explained this, the disciples realized He was referring to John the Baptist.

There is every reason to believe that before Christ’s Second Advent, a prophet will arise to prepare Israel for the coming King. Whether it will be Elijah personally or someone with a similar ministry is almost impossible to say.

F. Preparation for Service through Prayer and Fasting (17:14–21)

Life is not all a mountain-top experience. After moments of spiritual exhilaration come hours and days of toil and expenditure. The time comes when we must leave the mountain to minister in the valley of human need.

17:14, 15 At the base of the mountain, a distraught father was waiting for the Savior. Kneeling down before Him, he poured out his impassioned plea that his demon-possessed son might be healed. The son suffered from violent epileptic seizures which sometimes caused him to fall into the fire and often into the water, so his misery was compounded by burns and near-drownings. He was a classic example of the suffering caused by Satan, the cruelest of all taskmasters.

17:16 The father had gone to the disciples for help, only to learn that “vain is the help of man.” They had been powerless to cure.

17:17 “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?” is addressed to the disciples. They did not have the faith to heal the epileptic, but in that respect, were a cross section of the Jewish people of that day—faithless and perverse.

17:18 As soon as the epileptic was brought to Him, Jesus rebuked the demon, and the sufferer was instantly cured.

17:19, 20 Puzzled by their powerlessness, the disciples privately asked the Lord for an explanation. His answer was straightforward: unbelief. If they had faith the size of a mustard seed (the smallest of seeds), they could command a mountain to be cast into the sea and it would happen. Of course, it should be understood that true faith must be based upon some command or promise of God. Expecting to perform some spectacular stunt in order to gratify a personal whim is not faith but presumption. But if God guides a believer in a certain direction or issues a command, the Christian can have utmost confidence that mountainous difficulties will be miraculously removed. Nothing is impossible to those who believe.

17:21 “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” is omitted in the RSV and most modern Bibles, because it is lacking in many early manuscripts. However, it is found in the majority of the manuscripts and fits the context of an especially difficult problem.

G. Preparing the Disciples for His Betrayal (17:22, 23)

Again, without drama or fanfare, the Lord Jesus forewarned His disciples that He would be put to death. But again there was that word of vindication and victory—He would be raised up on the third day. If He had not told them of His death in advance, they would doubtless have been completely disillusioned when it happened. A death of shame and suffering was not consistent with their expectations of the Messiah.

As it was, they were greatly distressed that He was going to leave them and that He would be slain. They heard His passion prediction but seemed to have missed His resurrection promise.

H. Peter and His Master Pay Their Taxes (17:24–27)

17:24, 25 In Capernaum the collectors of the temple tax asked Peter if his Teacher paid the half-shekel used for carrying on the costly temple service. Peter answered, “Yes.” Perhaps the misguided disciple wanted to save Christ from embarrassment.

The omniscience of the Lord is seen in what followed. When Peter came home, Jesus spoke to him first—before Peter had a chance to tell what had happened. “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs and taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” The question must be understood in the light of those days. A ruler taxed his subjects for the support of his kingdom and his family, but he didn’t tax his own family. Under our form of government, everyone is taxed, including the ruler and his household.

17:26 Peter correctly answered that rulers collected tribute from strangers. Jesus then pointed out that the sons are free. The point was that the temple was God’s house. For Jesus, the Son of God, to pay tribute for the support of this temple would be equivalent to paying tribute to Himself.

17:27 However, rather than cause needless offense, the Lord agreed to pay the tax. But what would He do for money? It is never recorded that Jesus personally carried money. He sent Peter to the Sea of Galilee and told him to bring up the first fish he caught. In the mouth of that fish was a piece of money or stater which Peter used to pay the tribute—one-half for the Lord Jesus and one-half for himself.

This astounding miracle, narrated with utmost restraint, clearly demonstrates Christ’s omniscience. He knew which one of all the fish in the Sea of Galilee had a stater in its mouth. He knew the location of that one fish. And he knew it would be the first fish Peter would catch.

If any divine principle had been involved, Jesus would not have made the payment. It was a matter of moral indifference to Him, and He was willing to pay rather than offend. We as believers are free from the law. Yet, in nonmoral matters, we should respect the consciences of others, and not do anything that would cause offense.

XI. THE KING INSTRUCTS HIS DISCIPLES (Chaps. 18–20)

A. Concerning Humility (18:1–6)

Chapter 18 has been called the discourse on greatness and forgiveness. It outlines principles of conduct that are suitable for those who claim to be subjects of Christ the King.

18:1 The disciples had always thought of the kingdom of heaven as the golden age of peace and prosperity. Now they began to covet positions of preferment in it. Their self-seeking spirit found expression in the question, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

18:2, 3 Jesus answered with a living object lesson. Placing a little child in their midst, He said that men must be converted and become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. He was speaking of the kingdom in its inward reality; in order to be a genuine believer a man must abandon thoughts of personal greatness and take the lowly position of a little child. This begins when he acknowledges his sinfulness and unworthiness and receives Jesus Christ as his only hope. This attitude should continue throughout his Christian life. Jesus was not implying that His disciples were not saved. All except Judas had true faith in Him, and were therefore justified. But they had not yet received the Holy Spirit as an indwelling Person, and therefore lacked the power for true humility that we have today (but do not use as we should). Also they needed to be converted in the sense of having all their false thinking changed to conform to the kingdom.

18:4 The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself as a little child. Obviously the standards and values in the kingdom are exactly opposite those in the world. Our whole mode of thinking must be reversed; we must think Christ’s thoughts after Him (see Phil. 2:5–8).

18:5 Here the Lord Jesus glides almost imperceptibly from the subject of a natural child to a spiritual child. Whoever receives one of His humble followers in His name will be rewarded as if he had received the Lord Himself. What is done for the disciple is reckoned as done for the Master.

18:6 On the other hand, anyone who seduces a believer to sin incurs enormous condemnation; it would be better for him to have a great millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the ocean’s depths. (The great millstone referred to here required an animal to turn it; a smaller one could be turned by hand.) It is bad enough to sin against oneself, but to cause a believer to sin is to destroy his innocence, corrupt his mind, and stain his reputation. Better to die a violent death than to trifle with another’s purity!

B. Concerning Offenses (18:7–14)

18:7 Jesus went on to explain that it is inevitable that offenses should arise. The world, the flesh, and the devil are leagued to seduce and pervert. But if a person becomes an agent for the forces of evil, his guilt will be great. So the Savior warned men to take drastic action in disciplining themselves rather than to tempt a child of God.

18:8, 9 Whether the sinning member is the hand or foot or the eye, better to sacrifice it to the surgeon’s knife than to let it destroy the work of God in another person’s life. Better to enter into life without limbs or sight than to be consigned to hell with every member intact. Our Lord does not imply that some bodies will lack limbs in heaven, but merely describes the physical condition at the time a believer leaves this life for the next. There can be no question that the resurrection body will be complete and perfect.

18:10 Next the Son of God warned against despising one of His little ones, whether children or any who belong to the kingdom. To emphasize their importance, He added that their angels are constantly in the presence of God, beholding His face. Angels here probably means guardian angels (see also Heb. 1:14).

18:11 While omitted in RSV and most other modern Bibles, this verse about our Savior’s mission is a fitting climax to this section, and it has wide manuscript support.38

18:12, 13 These little ones are also the object of the tender Shepherd’s saving ministry. Even if one out of a hundred sheep goes astray, He leaves the ninety-nine and searches for the lost one till He finds it. The Shepherd’s joy over finding a straying sheep should teach us to value and respect His little ones.

18:14 They are important not only to the angels and to the Shepherd, but also to God the Father. It is not His will that one of them should perish. If they are important enough to engage angels, the Lord Jesus, and God the Father, then clearly we should never despise them, no matter how unlovely or lowly they might appear.

C. Concerning Discipline of Offenders (18:15–20)

The rest of the chapter deals with the settlement of differences among church members, and with the need for exercising unlimited forgiveness.

18:15 Explicit instructions are given concerning the Christian’s responsibility when wronged by another believer. First, the matter should be handled privately between the two parties. If the offender acknowledges his guilt, reconciliation is achieved. The trouble is that we don’t do this. We gossip to everyone else about it. Then the matter spreads like wildfire and strife is multiplied. Let us remember that step number one is to “go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.”

18:16 If the guilty brother does not listen, then the wronged one should take one or two others with him, seeking his restoration. This emphasizes the mounting seriousness of his continued unbrokenness. But more, it provides competent testimony, as required by the Scripture: “that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established’ ” (Deut. 19:15). No one can measure the trouble that has plagued the church through failure to obey the simple rule that a charge against another person must be supported by the testimony of two or three others. In this respect, worldly courts often act more righteously than Christian churches or assemblies.

18:17 If the accused still refuses to confess and apologize, the matter should be taken before the local church. It is important to notice that the local assembly is the body responsible to hear the case, not a civil court. The Christian is forbidden to go to law against another believer (1 Cor. 6:1–8).

If the defendant refuses to admit his wrong before the church, then he is to be considered a heathen and a tax collector. The most obvious meaning of this expression is that he should be looked upon as being outside the sphere of the church. Though he may be a true believer, he is not living as one, and should therefore be treated accordingly. Though still in the universal church, he should be barred from the privileges of the local church. Such discipline is a serious action; it temporarily delivers a believer to the power of Satan “for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5). The purpose of this is to bring him to his senses and cause him to confess his sin. Until that point is reached, believers should treat him courteously but should also show by their attitude that they do not condone his sin and cannot have fellowship with him as a fellow believer. The assembly should be prompt to receive him back as soon as there is evidence of godly repentance.

18:18 Verse 18 is linked with what precedes. When an assembly, prayerfully and in obedience to the Word, binds disciplinary action upon a person, that action is honored in heaven. When the disciplined person has repented and confessed his sin, and the assembly restores him to fellowship, that loosing action, too, is ratified by God (see John 20:23).

18:19 The question arises, “How large must an assembly be before it can bind and loose, as described above?” The answer is that two believers may bring such matters to God in prayer with the assurance of being heard. While verse 19 may be used as a general promise of answers to prayer, in the context it refers to prayer concerning church discipline. When used in connection with collective prayer in general, it must be taken in light of all other teaching on prayer. For instance, our prayers must be:

1. In conformity to the revealed will of God (1 Jn. 5:14, 15).

2. In faith (Jas. 1:6–8).

3. In sincerity (Heb. 10:22a), etc.

18:20 Verse 20 should be interpreted in light of its context. It does not refer primarily to the composition of an NT church in its simplest form, nor to a general prayer meeting, but to a meeting where the church seeks the reconciliation of two Christians separated by some sin. It may legitimately be applied to all meetings of believers where Christ is the Center, but a specific type of meeting is in view here.

To meet “in His name” means by His authority, in acknowledgment of all that He is, and in obedience to His Word. No group can claim to be the only ones who meet in His name; if that were so, His presence would be limited to a small segment of His body on earth. Wherever two or three are gathered in recognition of Him as Lord and Savior, he is there in the midst.

D. Concerning Unlimited Forgiveness (18:21–35)

18:21, 22 At this point Peter raised the question of how often he should forgive a brother who sinned against him. He probably thought he was showing unusual grace by suggesting seven as an outside limit. Jesus answered “not … seven times but up to seventy times seven.” He did not intend us to understand a literal 490 times; this was a figurative way of saying “Indefinitely.”

Someone might then ask, “Why bother to go through the steps outlined above? Why go to an offender alone, then with one or two others, then take him to church? Why not just forgive, and let that be the end of it?”

The answer is that there are stages in the administration of forgiveness, as follows:

1. When a brother wrongs me or sins against me, I should forgive him immediately in my heart (Eph. 4:32). That frees me from a bitter, unforgiving spirit, and leaves the matter on his shoulders.

2. While I have forgiven him in my heart, I do not yet tell him that he is forgiven. It would not be righteous to administer forgiveness publicly until he has repented. So I am obligated to go to him and rebuke him in love, hoping to lead him to confession (Luke 17:3).

3. As soon as he apologizes and confesses his sin, I tell him that he is forgiven (Luke 17:4).

18:23 Jesus then gives a parable of the kingdom of heaven to warn against the consequences of an unforgiving spirit by subjects who have been freely forgiven.

18:24–27 The story concerns a certain king who wanted to clear his bad debts off his books. One servant, who owed him ten thousand talents, was insolvent, so his lord ordered that he and his family be sold into slavery in payment of the debt. The distraught servant begged for time, promising to pay him all if given the chance.

Like many debtors, he was incredibly optimistic about what he could do if only he had time (v. 26). Galilee’s total revenue only amounted to 300 talents and this man owed 10,000! The detail about the vast amount is intentional. It is to shock the listeners and so capture their attention, and also to emphasize an immense debt to God. Martin Luther used to say that we are all beggars before Him. We cannot hope to pay (Daily Notes of the Scripture Union).

When the master saw the contrite attitude of his servant, he forgave him the entire 10,000 talents. It was an epic display of grace, not justice.

18:28–30 Now that servant had a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii (a few hundred dollars). Rather than forgive him, he grabbed him by the throat and demanded payment in full. The hapless debtor pled for an extension, but it was no use. He was thrown into prison till he paid the debt—a difficult business at best, since his chance of earning money was gone as long as he was imprisoned.

18:31–34 The other servants, outraged by this inconsistent behavior, told their master. He was furious with the merciless lender. Having been forgiven a big debt, he was unwilling to forgive a pittance. So he was returned to the jailers’ custody till his debt was paid.

18:35 The application is clear. God is the King. All His servants had contracted a great debt of sin which they were unable to pay. In wonderful grace and compassion, the Lord paid the debt and granted full and free forgiveness. Now suppose some Christian wrongs another. When rebuked, he apologizes and asks forgiveness. But the offended believer refuses. He himself has been forgiven millions of dollars, but won’t forgive a few hundred. Will the King allow such behavior to go unpunished? Certainly not! The culprit will be chastened in this life and will suffer loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

E. Concerning Marriage, Divorce, and Celibacy (19:1–12)

19:1, 2 After completing His ministry in Galilee, the Lord turned southward to Jerusalem. Though His exact route is unknown, it seems clear that He traveled through Perea, on the east side of the Jordan. Matthew speaks of the area loosely as the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. The Perean ministry extends from 19:1 to 20:16 or 20:28; it is not clearly stated when He crossed the Jordan into Judea.

19:3 Probably it was the multitudes that followed Him for healing that alerted the Pharisees to the Lord’s whereabouts. Like a pack of wild dogs, they began to close in, hoping to trap Him by His words. They asked if divorce was legal on any and every ground. No matter how He answered, He would infuriate some segment of the Jews. One school took a very liberal attitude toward divorce; another was extremely strict.

19:4–6 Our Lord explained that God’s original intention was that a man have only one living wife. The God who created male and female decreed that the marriage relationship should supersede the parental relationship. He also said that marriage is a union of persons. God’s ideal is that this divinely ordained union should not be broken by human act or decree.

19:7 The Pharisees thought they had caught the Lord in a flagrant contradiction of the OT. Hadn’t Moses made provision for divorce? A man could simply give his wife a written statement, then put her out of the house (Deut. 24:1–4).

19:8 Jesus agreed that Moses had permitted divorce, not as God’s best for mankind, but because of Israel’s backslidden condition: “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” God’s ideal was that there be no divorce. But God often tolerates conditions that are not His directive will.

19:9 Then the Lord stated with absolute authority that the past leniency on divorce was henceforth discontinued. Hereafter there would be only one valid ground for divorce—unchastity. If a person was divorced for any other reason and remarried, he was guilty of adultery.

Although not directly stated, it would seem from the words of our Lord that where a divorce has been obtained on the grounds of adultery, the innocent party is free to remarry. Otherwise divorce would serve no purpose not equally achieved by separation.

Sexual immorality, or fornication, is generally taken to mean adultery. However, many capable Bible students think it refers only to pre-marital immorality which is discovered after marriage (see Deut. 22:13–21). Others believe it refers to Jewish marriage customs only and that is why the “exception clause” is only here in Matthew, the Jewish Gospel.

For a fuller discussion of divorce, see notes on 5:31, 32.

19:10 When the disciples heard the Lord’s teaching on divorce, they proved themselves creatures of extremes by adopting the absurd position that if divorce is obtainable on only one ground, then to avoid sinning in the married state it would be better not to marry at all. But that would not save them from sinning in the single state.

19:11 So the Savior reminded them that the ability to remain celibate was not the general rule; only those to whom special grace was given could forego marriage. The dictum, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given,” does not mean that all cannot understand what follows, but that they cannot live a continent life unless they are called to it.

19:12 The Lord Jesus explained that there are three types of eunuchs. Some men are eunuchs because they were born without the power of reproduction. Others are so because they were castrated by men; oriental rulers often subjected the harem attendants to surgery to make them eunuchs. But Jesus especially had in mind those who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. These men could be married, and they have no physical impairment. Yet in dedication to the King and His kingdom, they willingly forego marriage in order to give themselves to the cause of Christ without distraction. As Paul wrote later, “He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:32). Their celibacy is not physical but a matter of voluntary abstinence.

Not all men can live such a life; only those divinely empowered: “But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that” (1 Cor. 7:7).

F. Concerning Children (19:13–15)

It is interesting that children are introduced shortly after the discourse on divorce (see also Mark 10:1–16); often they are the ones who suffer most severely from broken homes.

Parents brought their little children to Jesus to be blessed by the Teacher-Shepherd. The disciples saw this as an intrusion and annoyance, and rebuked the parents. But Jesus intervened with those words that have since endeared Him to children of every age, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Several important lessons emerge from those words. First, they should impress the servant of the Lord with the importance of reaching children, whose minds are most receptive, with the Word of God. Second, children who wish to confess their faith in the Lord Jesus should be encouraged, not held back. No one knows the age of the youngest person in hell. If a child truly wishes to be saved, he should not be told that he is too young. At the same time, children should not be pressured into making a false profession. Susceptible as they are to emotional appeals, they should be protected from high-pressure methods of evangelism. Children do not have to become adults to be saved, but adults have to become like children (18:3, 4; Mark 10:15).

Thirdly, these words of our Lord answer the question, “What happens to children who die before they reach the age of accountability?” Jesus said, “ … of such is the kingdom of heaven.” That should be adequate assurance to parents who have suffered the loss of little ones.

Sometimes this passage is used to support the baptism of young children in order to make them members of Christ and inheritors of the kingdom. Closer reading will show that the parents brought the children to Jesus, not to the baptistry. It will show that the children were already possessors of the kingdom. And it will show that there is not a drop of water in the passage.

G. Concerning Riches: The Rich Young Ruler (19:16–26)

19:16 This incident provides a study in contrasts. Having just seen that the kingdom of heaven belongs to little children, we will now see how difficult it is for adults to enter.

A rich man intercepted the Lord with an apparently sincere inquiry. Addressing Jesus as “Good Teacher” he asked what he had to do to have eternal life. The question revealed his ignorance of the true identity of Jesus and of the way of salvation. He called Jesus “Teacher,” putting Him on the same level as other great men. And he spoke of gaining eternal life as a debt rather than as a gift.

19:17 Our Lord probed him on these two points. In asking, “Why do you call Me good? There is no one good but One, that is, God,” Jesus was not denying His own deity, but was providing the man with an opportunity to say, “That’s why I call You good—You are God.”

To test him on the way of salvation Jesus said, “But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” The Savior was not implying that man can be saved by keeping the commandments. Rather, He was using the law to produce conviction of sin in the man’s heart. The man was still under the delusion that he could inherit the kingdom on the principle of doing. Therefore, let him obey the law which told him what to do.

19:18–20 Our Lord quoted the five commandments dealing primarily with our fellow man, climaxing them by saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Blind to his own selfishness, the man boasted that he had always kept these commandments.

19:21 Our Lord then exposed the man’s failure to love his neighbor as himself by telling him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. Then he should come to Jesus and follow Him.

The Lord did not mean that this man could have been saved by selling his possessions and giving the proceeds to charity. There is only one way of salvation—faith in the Lord.

But in order to be saved, a man must acknowledge that he has sinned and fallen short of God’s holy requirements. The rich man’s unwillingness to share his possessions showed that he did not love his neighbor as himself. He should have said, “Lord, if that’s what is required, then I’m a sinner. I cannot save myself by my own efforts. Therefore, I ask You to save me by Your grace.” If he had responded to the Savior’s instruction he would have been given the way of salvation.

19:22 Instead, he went away sorrowful.

19:23, 24 The rich man’s response prompted Jesus to observe that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Riches tend to become an idol. It is hard to have them without trusting in them. Our Lord declared that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” He was using a figure of speech known as hyperbole—a statement made in intensified form to produce a vivid, unforgettable effect.

It is clearly impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle! The “needle’s eye” has often been explained as the small door in a city gate. A camel could get through it by kneeling down, but only with great difficulty. However, the word used for “needle” in the parallel passage in Luke is the same word used to describe the needle used by surgeons. It seems clear from the context that the Lord was not speaking of difficulty, but of impossibility. Humanly speaking, a rich man simply cannot be saved.

19:25 The disciples were astonished by these remarks. As Jews living under the Mosaic code, by which God promised prosperity to those who obeyed Him, they correctly viewed riches as indicative of God’s blessing. If those who thus enjoyed God’s blessing couldn’t be saved, who could?

19:26 The Lord replied, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Humanly speaking, it is impossible for anyone to be saved; only God can save a soul. But it is more difficult for a wealthy man to surrender his will to Christ than for a poor man, as evidenced by the fact that few rich men are converted. They find it almost impossible to replace trust in visible means of support for faith in an unseen Savior. Only God can effect such a change.

Commentators and preachers invariably inject here that it is perfectly all right for Christians to be rich. It is strange that they use a passage in which the Lord denounces wealth as a hindrance to man’s eternal welfare, to justify the accumulation of earthly treasures! And it is difficult to see how a Christian can cling to riches in view of the appalling need everywhere, the imminence of Christ’s Return, and the Lord’s clear prohibition against laying up treasures on earth. Hoarded wealth condemns us as not loving our neighbors as ourselves.

H. Concerning Rewards for Sacrificial Living (19:27–30)

19:27 Peter caught the drift of the Savior’s teaching. Realizing that Jesus was saying, “Forsake all and follow Me,” Peter gloated that he and the other disciples had done exactly that; then he added, “What shall we have?” Peter’s self-life was showing, the old nature reasserting itself. It was a spirit each of us must guard against. He was bargaining with the Lord.

19:28, 29 The Lord assured Peter that everything done for Him would be rewarded handsomely. As to the twelve specifically, they would have places of authority in the Millennium. The regeneration refers to Christ’s future reign on earth; it is explained by the expression, “when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory.” We have previously referred to this phase of the kingdom as the kingdom in manifestation. At that time the twelve will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Rewards in the NT are closely linked with positions of administration in the Millennium (see Luke 19:17, 19). They are awarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but manifested when the Lord returns to earth to reign.

As to believers in general, Jesus added that all who have left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for His sake shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. In this life, they enjoy a world-wide fellowship of believers that more than compensates for severed earthly ties. For the one house they leave, they receive a hundred Christian homes where they are warmly welcomed. For lands or other forms of wealth forsaken, they receive spiritual riches beyond reckoning.

The future reward for all believers is eternal life. This does not mean that we earn eternal life by forsaking all and sacrificing. Eternal life is a gift and cannot be earned or merited. Here the thought is that those who forsake all are rewarded with a greater capacity for enjoying eternal life in heaven. All believers will have that life but not all will enjoy it to the same extent.

19:30 The Lord closed His remarks with a warning against a bargaining spirit. He said to Peter, in effect, “Anything you do for My sake will be rewarded, but be careful that you are not guided by selfish considerations; because in that case, many who are first will be last, and the last first.” This is illustrated by a parable in the next chapter. This statement may also have been a warning that it isn’t enough to start out well on the path of discipleship. It’s how we finish that counts.

Before leaving this section we should notice that the expressions “kingdom of heaven” and “kingdom of God” are used interchangeably in verses 23 and 24; therefore, the two terms are synonymous.

I. Concerning Rewards for Labor in the Vineyard (20:1–16)

20:1, 2 This parable, a continuation of the discourse on rewards at the end of chapter 19, illustrates the truth that while all true disciples will be rewarded, the order of rewards will be determined by the spirit in which the disciple served.

The parable describes a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers to work in his vineyard. These men contracted to work for a denarius a day, a reasonable wage at that time. Let us say they began to work at 6:00 a.m.

20:3, 4 At 9:00 a.m. the farmer found some other unemployed laborers in the market place. In this case there was no labor-management agreement. They went to work with only his word that he would give them whatever was right.

20:5–7 At noon and at 3:00 p.m. the farmer hired more men on the basis that he would give them a fair wage. At 5:00 p.m. he found more unemployed men. They were not lazy; they wanted work but hadn’t been able to find it. So he sent them into the vineyard without any discussion of pay.

It is important to notice that the first men were hired as a result of a bargaining agreement; all the others left the matter of pay to the landowner.

20:8 At the end of the day, the farmer instructed his paymaster to pay the men, beginning with the last hired and working back to the first. (In this way the earliest men hired saw what the others received.)

20:9–12 It was the same pay for all—one denarius. The 6:00 a.m. men thought they would receive more, but no—they too got one denarius. They were bitterly resentful; after all, they had worked longer and through the heat of the day.

20:13, 14 In the farmer’s reply to one of them we find the abiding lessons from the parable. First he said, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours, and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.” The first bargained for a denarius a day and got the wage agreed on. The others cast themselves on the farmer’s grace and got grace. Grace is better than justice. It is better to leave our rewards up to the Lord than to strike a bargain with Him.

20:15 Then the farmer said, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?” The lesson, of course, is that God is sovereign. He can do as He pleases. And what He pleases will always be right, just, and fair. The farmer added, “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” This question exposes the selfish streak in human nature. The 6:00 a.m. men got exactly what they deserved, yet were jealous because the others got the same pay for working fewer hours. Many of us have to admit that it seems a bit unfair to us, too. This only proves that in the kingdom of heaven we must adopt an entirely new kind of thinking. We must abandon our greedy, competitive spirit and think like the Lord.

The farmer knew that all these men needed money, so he paid them according to need rather than greed. No one received less than he deserved, but all received what they needed for themselves and their families. The lesson, according to James Stewart, is that the person “who thinks to bargain about final reward will always be wrong, and God’s loving-kindness will always have the last unchallengeable word.”39 The more we study the parable in this light, the more we realize that it is not only fair but eminently beautiful. Those who were hired at 6:00 a.m. should have counted it an added recompense to serve such a wonderful master all day.

20:16 Jesus closed the parable with the words, “So the last will be first, and the first last” (see 19:30). There will be surprises in the matter of rewards. Some who thought they would be first will be last because their service was inspired by pride and selfish ambition. Others who served out of love and gratitude will be highly honored.

Deeds of merit as we thought them,

He will show us were but sin;

Little acts we had forgotten,

He will show us were for Him.

—Anon

J. Concerning His Death and Resurrection (20:17–19)

It is apparent that the Lord was leaving Perea for the trip to Jerusalem via Jericho (see v. 29). Once again He took the twelve disciples aside to explain what would happen after they reached the Holy City. He would be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes—an obvious reference to the perfidy of Judas. He would be condemned to death by the leaders of Jewry. Lacking authority to inflict capital punishment, they would turn Him over to the Gentiles (the Romans). He would be mocked, scourged, and crucified. But death would not keep its prey—He would rise again on the third day.

K. Concerning Position in the Kingdom (20:20–28)

It is a sad commentary on human nature that, immediately after the third prediction of His passion, His followers were thinking more of their own glory than of His sufferings.

Christ’s first prediction of suffering gave rise to Peter’s demur (16:22); the second was soon followed by the disciples’ questions, “Who is the greatest … ?” So here, we find the third capped with the ambitious request of James and John. They persistently closed their eyes to warnings of trouble, and opened them only to the promise of glory—so getting a wrong, materialistic view of the Kingdom (Daily Notes of the Scripture Union).

20:20, 21 The mother of James and John came to the Lord asking that her boys might sit on either side of Him in His kingdom. It is to her credit that she wanted her sons near Jesus, and that she had not despaired of His coming reign. But she did not understand the principles upon which honors would be bestowed in the kingdom.

Mark says that the sons made the request themselves (Mark 10:35); perhaps they did it at her direction, or perhaps the three of them approached the Lord together. No contradiction is involved.

20:22 Jesus answered frankly that they did not understand what they were asking. They wanted a crown without a cross, a throne without the altar of sacrifice, the glory without the suffering that leads to it. So He asked them pointedly, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” We are not left to wonder what He meant by the cup; He had just described it in verses 18 and 19. He must suffer and die.

James and John expressed ability to share in His sufferings, though perhaps their confidence was based more on zeal than knowledge.

20:23 Jesus assured them that they would indeed drink of His cup. James would be martyred and John persecuted and exiled to the Isle of Patmos. Robert Little said, “James died a martyr’s death; John lived a martyr’s life.”

Then Jesus explained that He could not arbitrarily grant places of honor in the kingdom; the Father had determined a special basis on which these positions would be assigned. They thought it was a matter of political patronage, that because they were so close to Christ, they had a special claim to places of preferment. But it was not a question of personal favoritism. In the counsels of God, the places on His right hand and left hand would be given on the basis of suffering for Him. This means that the chief honors in the kingdom are not limited to first century Christians; some living today might win them—by suffering.

20:24 The other ten disciples were greatly displeased that the sons of Zebedee had made such a request. They were probably indignant because they themselves wanted to be greatest and resented any prior claims being made by James and John!

20:25–27 This gave our Lord the opportunity to make a revolutionary statement concerning greatness in His kingdom. The Gentiles think of greatness in terms of mastery and rule. In Christ’s kingdom, greatness is manifested by service. Whoever aspires to greatness must become a servant, and whoever desires to be first must become a slave.

20:28 The Son of Man is the perfect example of lowly service. He came into the world not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. The whole purpose of the Incarnation can be summed up in two words—serve and give. It is amazing to think that the exalted Lord humbled Himself to the manger and to the cross. His greatness was manifested in the depth of His humiliation. And so it must be for us.

He gave His life a ransom for many. His death satisfied all God’s righteous demands against sin. It was sufficient to put away all the sins of all the world. But it is effective only for those who accept Him as Lord and Savior. Have you ever done this?

L. Healing of Two Blind Men (20:29–34)

20:29, 30 By now Jesus had crossed the Jordan from Perea and had reached Jericho. As He was leaving the city, two blind men cried out to Him, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” Their use of the title “Son of David” means that, though physically blind, their spiritual vision was so acute as to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They may represent the believing remnant of blinded Israel who will acknowledge Him as the Christ when He returns to reign (Isa. 35:5; 42:7; Rom. 11:25, 26; 2 Cor. 3:16; Rev. 1:7).

20:31–34 The crowd tried to hush them, but they cried after Him more insistently. When Jesus asked what they wanted, they didn’t indulge in generalities, as we often do when we pray. They came right to the point: “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” Their specific request received a specific response. Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately they received their sight, and they followed Him.

With regard to His touching them, Gaebelein makes a helpful observation:

We have learned before the typical meaning of healing by touch in this Gospel. Whenever the Lord heals by touch it has reference, dispensationally, to His personal presence on the earth and His merciful dealing with Israel. When He heals by His Word, absent in person, … or if He is touched in faith, it refers to the time when He is absent from the earth, and Gentiles approaching Him in faith are healed by Him.40

There are difficulties in reconciling Matthew’s account of this incident with Mark 10:46–52 and Luke 18:35–43; 19:1. Here are two blind men; in Mark and Luke, only one is mentioned. It has been suggested that Mark and Luke mention the well-known one, Bartimaeus, and Matthew, writing his Gospel especially for Jews, mentions two as the minimum number for a valid testimony (2 Cor. 13:1). In Matthew and Mark, the incident is said to have occurred as Jesus left Jericho; in Luke, it is said to have happened as He drew near the city. In fact there were two Jerichos, an old Jericho and a new one, and the miracle of healing probably took place as Jesus was leaving one and entering the other.

XII. PRESENTATION AND REJECTION OF THE KING (Chaps. 21–23)

A. The Triumphal Entry (21:1–11)

21:1–3 On the way up from Jericho, Jesus came to the east side of the Mount of Olives where Bethany and Bethphage were located. From there the road skirted the south end of Olivet, dipped into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, crossed the Brook Kidron, and climbed up to Jerusalem.

He sent two disciples to Bethany with the foreknowledge that they would find a tethered donkey, and a colt with her. They were to untie the animals and bring them to Jesus. If challenged, they were to explain that the Lord needed the beasts. Then the owner would consent. Perhaps the owner knew Jesus and had previously offered to help Him. Or this incident may demonstrate the omniscience and supreme authority of the Lord. Everything happened just as Jesus had predicted.

21:4, 5 The requisitioning of the animals fulfilled predictions by Isaiah and Zechariah:

“Tell the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

21:6 After the disciples had spread their garments on the animals, Jesus mounted the colt (Mark 11:7) and rode onward to Jerusalem. It was a historic moment. Sixty-nine weeks of Daniel’s prophecy had now run out, according to Sir Robert Anderson (see his computations in the book The Coming Prince). Next the Messiah would be cut off (Dan. 9:26).

In riding into Jerusalem in this manner, the Lord Jesus made a deliberate, unveiled claim to being the Messiah. Lange notes:

He fulfills intentionally a prophecy which at His time was unanimously interpreted of the Messiah. If He has previously considered the declaration of His dignity as dangerous, He now counts silence inconceivable…. It was hereafter never possible to say that He had never declared Himself in a wholly unequivocal manner. When Jerusalem was afterwards accused of the murder of the Messiah, it should not be able to say that the Messiah had omitted to give a sign intelligible for all alike.41

21:7, 8 The Lord rode to the city on a carpet of clothes and palm branches, with the acclamation of the people ringing in His ears. For a moment, at least, He was acknowledged as King.

21:9 The multitudes shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.” This quotation from Psalm 118:25, 26 obviously applies to the Messiah’s advent. Hosanna originally meant “save now”; perhaps the people meant, “Save us from our Roman oppressors.” Later the term became an exclamation of praise. The phrases, “Son of David” and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD,” both clearly indicate that Jesus was being recognized as the Messiah. He is the Blessed One who comes by Jehovah’s authority to do His will.

Mark’s account records as part of the crowd’s shouts the phrase, “Blessed is the kingdom of our Father David that comes in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:10). This indicates that the people thought the kingdom was about to be set up with Christ sitting on the throne of David. In shouting, “Hosanna in the highest,” the crowd was calling on the heavens to join the earth in praising the Messiah, and perhaps calling on Him to save from the highest heavens.

Mark 11:11 records that, once in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple—not inside the temple but into the courtyard. Presumably it was the house of God, but He was not at home in this temple because the priests and people refused to give Him His rightful place. After looking around briefly, the Savior withdrew to Bethany with the twelve. It was Sunday evening.

21:10, 11 Meanwhile, inside the city there was bewilderment as to His identity. Those who asked were told only that He was Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. From this it seems that few really understood He was the Messiah. In less than a week, the fickle crowd would be crying, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

B. Cleansing the Temple (21:12, 13)

21:12 At the outset of His public ministry, Jesus had driven commercialism out of the temple environs (John 2:13–16). But profiteering for an excessive fee had again sprung up in the outer court of the temple. Sacrificial animals and birds were being bought and sold at exorbitant rates. Moneychangers converted other currencies into the half-shekel which Jewish men had to pay as temple tribute (tax)—for an excessive fee. Now, as His ministry drew to a close, Jesus again drove out those who were profiteering from sacred activities.

21:13 Combining quotations from Isaiah and Jeremiah, He condemned desecration, commercialism, and exclusivism. Quoting from Isaiah 56:7, He reminded them that God intended the temple to be a house of prayer. They had made it a hangout of thieves (Jer. 7:11).

This cleansing of the temple was His first official act after entering Jerusalem. By it He unmistakably asserted His lordship over the temple.

This incident has a twofold message for today. In our church life, we need His cleansing power to drive out bazaars, suppers, and a host of other money-making gimmicks. In our personal lives, there is constant need for the purging ministry of the Lord in our bodies, the temples of the Holy Spirit.

C. Indignation of the Priests and Scribes (21:14–17)

21:14 The next scene finds our Lord healing the blind and the lame in the temple yard. He attracted the needy wherever He went, and never sent them away without meeting their need.

21:15, 16 But hostile eyes were watching. And when these chief priests and scribes heard children hailing Jesus as the Son of David, they were enraged.

They said, “Do You hear what these are saying?”—as if they expected Him to forbid the children from addressing Him as the Messiah! If Jesus had not been the Messiah, this would have been an appropriate time to say so once for all. But His answer indicated that the children were right. He quoted Psalm 8:2 from the Septuagint: “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise.” If the supposedly knowledgeable priests and scribes would not praise Him as the Anointed, then the Lord would be worshiped by little children. Children often have spiritual insight beyond their years, and their words of faith and love bring unusual glory to the name of the Lord.

21:17 Leaving the religious leaders to ponder this truth, Jesus returned to Bethany and spent the night there.

D. The Barren Fig Tree (21:18–22)

21:18, 19 Returning to Jerusalem in the morning, the Lord came to a fig tree, hoping to find fruit on it to satisfy His hunger. Finding nothing on it but leaves, He said, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

In Mark’s account (11:12–14) the comment is made that it was not the season for figs. Therefore, His condemning the tree because it had no fruit would seem to picture the Savior as unreasonable and petulant. Knowing this cannot be true, how is this difficulty explained?

Fig trees in Bible lands produced an early, edible fruit before the leaves appeared. This was a harbinger of the regular crop. If no early figs appeared, as in the case of this fig tree, it indicated that there would be no regular figs later on.

This is the only miracle in which Christ cursed rather than blessed—destroyed rather than restored life. This has been raised as a difficulty. Such criticism betrays an ignorance of the Person of Christ. He is God, the Sovereign of the universe. Some of His dealings are mysterious to us, but we must begin with the premise that they are always right. In this case, the Lord knew that the fig tree would never bear figs and He acted as a farmer would in removing a barren tree from his orchard.

Even those who criticize our Lord for cursing the fig tree admit it was a symbolic action. This incident is the Savior’s interpretation of the tumultuous welcome He had just received in Jerusalem. Like the vine and the olive tree, the fig tree represents the nation of Israel. When Jesus came to the nation there were leaves, which speak of profession, but no fruit for God. Jesus was hungry for fruit from the nation.

Because there was no early fruit, He knew there would be no later fruit from that unbelieving people, and so He cursed the fig tree. This prepictured the judgment which would fall on the nation in A.D. 70.

We must remember that while unbelieving Israel will be fruitless forever, a remnant of the nation will return to the Messiah after the Rapture. They will bring forth fruit for Him during the Tribulation and during His Millennial Reign.

Although the primary interpretation of this passage relates to the nation of Israel, it has application to people of all ages who combine high talk and low walk.

21:20–22 When the disciples expressed amazement at the sudden withering of the tree, the Lord told them that they could do greater miracles than this if they had faith. For instance, they could say to a mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and it would happen. “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Again we must explain that these seemingly unqualified promises concerning prayer must be understood in light of all that the Bible teaches on the subject. Verse 22 does not mean that any Christian can ask anything he wants and expect to get it. He must pray in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Bible.

E. Jesus’ Authority Questioned (21:23–27)

21:23 When Jesus came into the court outside the temple proper, the chief priests and the elders interrupted His teaching to ask who gave Him the authority to teach, to perform miracles, and to cleanse the temple. They hoped to trap Him, no matter how He answered. If He claimed to have authority in Himself as the Son of God, they would accuse Him of blasphemy. If He claimed authority from men, they would discredit Him. If He claimed authority from God, they would challenge Him. They considered themselves the guardians of the faith, professionals who by formal training and human appointment were authorized to direct the religious life of the people. Jesus had no formal schooling and certainly no credentials from Israel’s rulers. Their challenge reflected the age-old resentment felt by professional religionists against men with the power of divine anointing.

21:24, 25 The Lord offered to explain His authority if they would answer a question, “Was John’s baptism from heaven or from men?” John’s baptism should be understood as meaning John’s ministry. Therefore the question was, “Who authorized John to carry on his ministry? Was his ordination human or divine? What credentials did he hold from Israel’s leaders?” The answer was obvious: John was a man sent from God. His power came from divine enduement, not from human endorsement.

The priests and elders were in a dilemma. If they admitted that John was sent by God, they were trapped. John had pointed men to Jesus as the Messiah. If John’s authority was divine, why hadn’t they repented and believed on Christ?

21:26 On the other hand, if they said that John was not commissioned by God, they adopted a position that would be ridiculed by the people, most of whom agreed that John was a prophet from God. If they had correctly answered that John was divinely sent, they would have had the answer to their own question: Jesus was the Messiah of whom John had been the forerunner.

21:27 But they refused to face the facts, so they pleaded ignorance. They could not tell the source of John’s power. Then Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Why should He tell them what they already knew but were unwilling to admit?

F. Parable of the Two Sons (21:28–32)

21:28–30 This parable is a stinging rebuke to the chief priests and elders for their failure to obey John’s call to repentance and faith. It concerns a man whose two sons were asked to work in the vineyard. One refused, then changed his mind and went. The other agreed to go, but never did.

21:31, 32 When asked which son did the will of his father, the religious leaders unwittingly condemned themselves by saying, “The first.”

The Lord interpreted the parable. Tax collectors and harlots were like the first son. They made no immediate pretense of obeying John the Baptist, but eventually many of them did repent and believe in Jesus. The religious leaders were like the second son. They professed to approve the preaching of John, but never confessed their sins or trusted the Savior. Therefore the out-and-out sinners entered the kingdom of God while the self-satisfied religious leaders remained outside. It is the same today. Avowed sinners receive the gospel more readily than those with a veneer of false piety.

The expression “John came to you in the way of righteousness” means that he came preaching the necessity of righteousness through repentance and faith.

G. Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (21:33–46)

21:33–39 Further answering the question about authority, Jesus told the parable of a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, installed a wine press in it, … built a tower, rented it to vinedressers, and went away to a distant country. At vintage-time … he sent his servants to the vinedressers to get his share of the crop, but the vinedressers beat one, killed one, and stoned another. When he sent other servants, they received the same treatment. The third time he sent his son, thinking they would respect him. Knowing full well that he was the heir, they killed him with the idea of seizing his inheritance.

21:40, 41 At this point the Lord asked the priests and elders what the owner would do to those vinedressers. They answered, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

The parable is not difficult to interpret. God is the landowner, Israel the vineyard (Ps. 80:8; Isa. 5:1–7; Jer. 2:21). The hedge is the Law of Moses which separated Israel from the Gentiles and preserved them as a distinct people for the Lord. The wine-press, by metonymy, signifies the fruit which Israel should have produced for God. The tower suggests Jehovah’s watchful care for His people. The vinedressers are the chief priests and scribes.

Repeatedly God sent His servants, the prophets, to the people of Israel seeking from the vineyard the fruits of fellowship, holiness, and love. But the people persecuted the prophets and killed some of them. Finally, God sent His Son, saying, “They will respect My Son” (v. 37). The chief priests and scribes said, “This is the heir”—a fatal admission. They privately agreed that Jesus was the Son of God (though publicly denying it) and thus answered their own question concerning His authority. His authority came from the fact that He was God the Son.

In the parable they are quoted as saying, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance” (v. 38). In real life they said, “If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (John 11:48). And so they rejected Him, threw Him out, and crucified Him.

21:42 When the Savior asked what the owner of the vineyard would do, their answer condemned them, as He shows in verses 42 and 43. He quoted the words of Psalm 118:22: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” When Christ, the Stone, presented Himself to the builders—the leaders of Israel—they had no place for Him in their building plans. They threw Him aside as useless. But following His death He was raised from the dead and given the place of preeminence by God. He has been made the topmost stone in God’s building: “God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name …” (Phil. 2:9).

21:43 Jesus then bluntly announced that the kingdom of God would be taken from Israel and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And so it happened. Israel has been set aside as God’s chosen people and has been judicially blinded. A hardening has come upon the race that rejected its Messiah. The prophecy that the kingdom of God would be given to a nation bearing the fruits of it has been understood as referring to (1) the church, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles—“a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Pet. 2:9)—or (2) the believing portion of Israel that will be living at the Second Advent. Redeemed Israel will bring forth fruit for God.

21:44 “Whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” In the first part of the verse, the stone is on the ground; in the second part, it is descending from above. This suggests the two Advents of Christ. When He came the first time, the Jewish leaders stumbled over Him and were broken to pieces. When He comes again, He will descend in judgment, scattering His enemies like dust.

21:45, 46 The chief priests and Pharisees realized these parables were aimed directly at them, in answer to their question concerning Christ’s authority. They would like to have seized Him then and there, but they feared the multitudes, who still took Jesus for a prophet.

H. Parable of the Wedding Dinner (22:1–14)

22:1–6 Jesus was not through with the chief priests and Pharisees. In a parable of a wedding dinner He again pictured favored Israel as set aside and the despised Gentiles as guests at the table. He likened the kingdom of heaven to a certain king who arranged a marriage feast for his son. The invitation was in two stages. First, an advance invitation, personally conveyed by servants, which met a flat refusal. The second invitation announced that the feast was spread. It was treated contemptuously by some, who were too busy with their farms and businesses, and violently by others, who seized, abused, and killed the servants.

22:7–10 The king was so furious that he destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Scrapping the first guest list, he issued a general invitation to all who would come. This time there wasn’t an empty seat in the wedding hall.

22:11–13 Among the guests, however, was one who did not have a wedding garment. Challenged on his unfitness to attend, he was speechless. The king ordered him to be cast out into the night, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The attendants in verse 13 are not the same as the servants in verse 3.

22:14 Our Lord concluded the parable with the words, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

As to the meaning of the parable, the king is God and His Son is the Lord Jesus. The wedding feast is an appropriate description of the festive joy which characterizes the kingdom of heaven. Introducing the church as the bride of Christ in this parable unnecessarily complicates the picture. The main thought is the setting aside of Israel—not the distinctive call and destiny of the church.

The first stage of the invitation pictures John the Baptist and the twelve disciples graciously inviting Israel to the wedding feast. But the nation refused to accept. The words, “they were not willing to come” (v. 3), were climactically dramatized in the crucifixion.

The second stage of the invitation suggests the proclamation of the gospel to the Jews in the book of Acts. Some treated the message with contempt. Some treated the messengers with violence; most of the apostles were martyred.

The King, justifiably angry with Israel, sent “his armies,” that is, Titus and his Roman legions, to destroy Jerusalem and most of its people in A.D. 70. They were “his armies” in the sense that He used them as His instruments to punish Israel. They were His officially even if they did not know Him personally.

Now Israel is set aside nationally and the gospel goes out to the Gentiles, both bad and good, that is, of all degrees of respectability (Acts 13:45, 46; 28:28). But the reality of each individual who comes is tested. The man without a wedding garment is one who professes to be ready for the kingdom but who has never been clothed in the righteousness of God through the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Actually there was (and is) no excuse for the man without the wedding garment. As Ryrie notes, it was the custom in those days to provide the guests with a garment if they had none. The man obviously did not take advantage of the offered provision. Without Christ, he is speechless when challenged as to his right to enter the kingdom (Rom. 3:19). His doom is outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The weeping suggests the suffering of hell. Some suggest that the gnashing of teeth signifies continued hatred and rebellion against God. If so, it disproves the notion that the fires of hell exert a purifying effect.

Verse 14 refers to the whole parable and not just to the incident of the man without the wedding garment. Many are called, that is, the gospel invitation goes out to many. But few are chosen. Some refuse the invitation, and even of those who respond favorably, some are exposed as false professors. All who respond to the good news are chosen. The only way a person can tell whether he is chosen is by what he does with the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jennings put it, “All are called to enjoy the feast, but not all are willing to trust the Giver to provide the robe that fits for the feast.”

I. Rendering to Caesar and to God (22:15–22)

Chapter 22 is a chapter of questions, recording attempts by three different deputations sent to trap the Son of God.

22:15, 16 Here we have an attempt by the Pharisees and Herodians. These two parties were bitter foes temporarily brought together by a common hatred of the Savior. Their goal was to lure Christ into making a political statement with dangerous implications. They took advantage of the Jews’ division over allegiance to Caesar. Some passionately opposed submitting to the Gentile emperor. Others, like the Herodians, adopted a more tolerant view.

22:17 First they insincerely complimented His purity of character, His truthfulness, and His fearlessness. Then they dropped the loaded question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

If Jesus answered, “No,” He would not only antagonize the Herodians, but would be accused of rebellion against the Roman government. The Pharisees would have hustled Him off and pressed charges against Him. If He said, “Yes,” He would run afoul of the Jews’ intense nationalistic spirit. He would lose much support among the common people—support which so far hindered the leaders in their efforts to dispose of Him.

22:18, 19 Jesus bluntly denounced them as hypocrites, trying to trap Him. Then He asked them to show Him a denarius, the coin used to pay taxes to the Roman government. Every time the Jews saw the likeness and title of Caesar on the coin it was an annoying reminder that they were under Gentile authority and taxation. The denarius should have reminded them that their bondage to Rome was a result of their sin. Had they been true to Jehovah, the question of paying taxes to Caesar would never have arisen.

22:20, 21 Jesus asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They were forced to answer, “Caesar’s.” Then the Lord told them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Their question had boomeranged. They had hoped to trap Jesus on the question of tribute to Caesar. He exposed their failure to give tribute to God. Galling as it was, they did give Caesar his due, but they had disregarded the claims of God on their lives. And One stood before them who is the express image of God’s Person (Heb. 1:3) and they failed to give Him His rightful place.

Jesus’ reply shows that the believer has dual citizenship. He is responsible to obey and financially support human government. He is not to speak evil of his rulers nor work to overthrow his government. He is to pray for those in authority. As a citizen of heaven, he is responsible to obey God. If there is ever a conflict between the two, his first loyalty is to God (Acts 5:29).

In quoting verse 21, most of us emphasize the part about Caesar and skip lightly over the part about God—exactly the fault for which Jesus reprehended the Pharisees!

22:22 When the Pharisees heard His answer, they knew they were outdone. All they could do was marvel, then leave.

J. The Sadducees and Their Resurrection Riddle (22:23–33)

22:23, 24 As mentioned previously, the Sadducees were the liberal theologians of that day, denying the resurrection of the body, the existence of angels, and miracles. In fact, their denials were more numerous than their affirmations.

A group of them came to Jesus with a story designed to make the idea of resurrection look ridiculous. They reminded Him of the law concerning levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5). Under that law, if an Israelite died without leaving children, his brother was supposed to marry the widow to preserve the family name in Israel and keep the inheritance within the family.

22:25–28 Their riddle concerned a woman who lost her husband, then married one of his brothers. The second brother died, so she married the third—and so on, down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Then came the question designed to humiliate Him who is the resurrection (John 11:25): “Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

22:29 Basically, they argued that the idea of resurrection posed insuperable difficulties, hence it was not reasonable, therefore it was not true. Jesus answered that the difficulty was not in the doctrine but in their minds; they were ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God.

First of all, they were ignorant of the Scriptures. The Bible never says the husband-wife relationship will be continued in heaven. While men will be recognizable as men, and women as women, they will all be like angels in the sense that they neither marry nor are given in marriage.

Secondly, they were ignorant of the power of God. If He could create men from dust, could He not as easily raise the dust of those who had died and refashion it into bodies of glory?

22:30–32 Then the Lord Jesus brought forth an argument from Scripture to show that resurrection is an absolute necessity. In Exodus 3:6 God spoke of Himself as the God of Abraham, … Isaac, and … Jacob. Yet Jesus pointed out, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” God made covenants with these men, but they died before the covenants were completely fulfilled. How can God speak of Himself as the God of three men whose bodies are in the grave? How can He who cannot fail to keep His promises fulfill those made to men who have already died? There is only one answer—resurrection.

22:33 No wonder the multitudes were astonished at His teaching; we are too!

K. The Great Commandment (22:34–40)

22:34–36 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced their antagonists the Sadducees, they came to Him for an interview. Their spokesman, a lawyer, asked Jesus to single out the great commandment in the law.

22:37, 38 In a masterful way the Lord Jesus summarized man’s obligation to God as the first and great commandment: “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ” Mark’s account adds the phrase, “and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). This means that man’s first obligation is to love God with the totality of his being. As has been pointed out, the heart speaks of the emotional nature, the soul of the volitional nature, the mind of the intellectual nature, and strength of the physical nature.

22:39, 40 Then Jesus added that man’s second responsibility is to love his neighbor as himself. Barnes says, “Love to God and man comprehends the whole of religion: and to produce this has been the design of Moses, the prophets, the Savior, and the apostles.” We should frequently ponder the words, “love your neighbor as yourself.” We should think of how very much we do love ourselves, of how much of our activity centers around the care and comfort of self. Then we should try to imagine what it would be like if we showered that love on our neighbors. Then we should do it. Such behavior is not natural; it is supernatural. Only those who have been born again can do it, and then only by allowing Christ to do it through them.

L. David’s Son Is David’s Lord (22:41–46)

22:41, 42 While the Pharisees were still awed by Jesus’ answer to the lawyer, He faced them with a provocative problem. “What did they think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”

Most Pharisees did not believe that Jesus was the Christ; they were still waiting for the Messiah. So Jesus was not asking them, “What do you think of Me?” (though that, of course, was involved). He was asking in a general way whose Son the Messiah would be when He appeared.

They answered correctly that the Messiah would be a descendant of David.

22:43, 44 Then the Lord Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 where David said, “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ ” The first use of the word “LORD” refers to God the Father, and the second to the Messiah. So David spoke of the Messiah as his Lord.

22:45 Now Jesus posed the question, “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” The answer is that the Messiah is both David’s Lord and David’s Son—both God and Man. As God, He is David’s Lord; as Man, He is David’s Son.

Had the Pharisees only been teachable, they would have realized that Jesus was the Messiah—the Son of David through the line of Mary, and the Son of God as revealed by His words, works, and ways.

22:46 But they refused to see. Completely baffled by His wisdom, they ceased trying to trick Him with questions. Hereafter they would use another method—violence.

M. Warning against High Talk, Low Walk (23:1–12)

23:1–4 In the opening verses of this chapter, the Savior warns the crowds and His disciples against the scribes and the Pharisees. These leaders sat in Moses’ seat, or taught the Law of Moses. Generally, their teachings were dependable, but their practice was not. Their creed was better than their conduct. It was a case of high talk and low walk. So Jesus said, “ … whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.”

They made heavy demands (probably extreme interpretations of the letter of the law) on the people, but would not assist anyone in lifting these intolerable loads.

23:5 They went through religious observances to be seen by men, not from inward sincerity. Their use of phylacteries was an example. In commanding Israel to bind His words as a sign upon their hands and as frontlets between their eyes (Ex. 13:9, 16; Deut. 6:8; 11:18), God meant that the law should continually be before them, guiding their activities. They reduced this spiritual command to a literal, physical sense. Enclosing portions of Scripture in leather capsules, they bound them to their foreheads or arms. They weren’t concerned about obeying the law as long as, by wearing ridiculously large phylacteries, they appeared super-spiritual. The law also commanded the Jews to wear tassels with blue cords on the corners of their garments (Num. 15:37–41; Deut. 22:12). These distinctive trimmings were intended to remind them that they were a distinct people, and that they should walk in separation from the nations. The Pharisees overlooked the spiritual lesson and satisfied themselves with making longer fringes.

23:6–8 They showed their self-importance by scrambling for the places of honor at feasts and in the synagogues. They nourished their ego on greetings in the marketplaces and especially enjoyed being called rabbi (meaning “my great one” or “teacher”).

23:9, 10 Here the Lord warned His disciples against using distinctive titles which should be reserved for the Godhead. We are not to be called rabbi as a distinctive title because there is one Teacher—the Christ. We should call no man father; God is our Father. Weston writes insightfully:

It is a declaration of the essential relations of man to God. Three things constitute a Christian—what he is, what he believes, what he does; doctrine, experience, practice. Man needs for his spiritual being three things—life, instruction, guidance; just what our Lord declares in the ten words of the Gospel—“I am the way, and the truth, and the life”…. Acknowledge no man as Father, for no man can impart or sustain spiritual life; install no man as an infallible teacher; allow no one to assume the office of spiritual director; your relation to God and to Christ is as close as that of any other person.42

The obvious meaning of the Savior’s words is that in the kingdom of heaven all believers form an equal brotherhood with no place for distinctive titles setting one above another. Yet think of the pompous titles found in Christendom today: Reverend, Right Reverend, Father, and a host of others. Even the seemingly harmless “Doctor” means teacher in Latin. (This warning clearly applies to spiritual, rather than natural, professional, or academic relationships. For instance, it does not prohibit a child’s calling his parent “Father,” nor a patient’s addressing his physician as “Doctor.”) As far as earthly relationships are concerned, the rule is “respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due” (Rom. 13:7).

23:11, 12 Once again the revolutionary character of the kingdom of heaven is seen in the fact that true greatness is exactly opposite to what people suppose. Jesus said, “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” True greatness stoops to serve. Pharisees who exalt themselves will be brought low. True disciples who humble themselves will be exalted in due time.

N. Woes against the Scribes and Pharisees (23:13–36)

The Lord Jesus next pronounces eight woes on the proud religious hypocrites of His day. These are not “curses,” but rather expressions of sorrow at their fate, not unlike the expression, “Alas for you!”

23:13 The first woe is directed against their obduracy and obstructionism. They refused to enter the kingdom themselves, and aggressively hindered others from entering. Strangely, religious leaders are often the most active opponents of the gospel of grace. They can be sweetly tolerant of everything but the good news of salvation. Natural man doesn’t want to be the object of God’s grace and doesn’t want God to show grace to others.

23:14 The second woe43 lambastes their appropriating of widow’s houses and covering it up by making long prayers. Some modern cults use a similar technique by getting elderly widows, sometimes undiscerning believers, to sign over their property to the “church.” Such pretenders to piety will receive greater condemnation.

23:15 The third charge against them is misdirected zeal. They went to unimaginable lengths to make one convert, but after he was won they made him twice as wicked as themselves. A modern analogy is the zeal of false cults. One group is willing to knock on 700 doors to reach one person for their cause; but the final result is evil. As someone has said, “The most converted often become the most perverted.”

23:16–22 Fourthly, the Lord denounced them for their casuistry, or deliberate dishonest reasoning. They had built up a false system of reasoning to evade the payment of vows. For instance, they taught that if you swore by the temple, you were not obligated to pay, but if you swore by the gold of the temple, then you must perform the vow. They said that swearing by the gift on the altar was binding, whereas swearing by the empty altar was not. Thus they valued gold above God (the temple was the house of God), and the gift on the altar (wealth of some form) above the altar itself. They were more interested in the material than the spiritual. They were more interested in getting (the gift) than in giving (the altar was the place of giving).

Addressing them as blind guides, Jesus exposed their sophistry. The gold of the temple took on special value only because it was associated with God’s abode. It was the altar that gave value to the gift upon it. People who think that gold has intrinsic value are blind; it becomes valuable only as it is used for God’s glory. Gifts given for carnal motives are valueless; those given to the Lord or in the Lord’s Name have eternal value.

The fact is that whatever these Pharisees swore by, God was involved and they were obligated to fulfill the vow. Man cannot escape his obligations by specious reasonings. Vows are binding and promises must be kept. It is useless to appeal to technicalities to evade obligations.

23:23, 24 The fifth woe is against ritualism without reality. The scribes and Pharisees were meticulous in giving the Lord a tenth of the most insignificant herbs they raised. Jesus did not condemn them for this care about small details of obedience, but He excoriated them for being utterly unscrupulous when it came to showing justice, mercy, and faithfulness to others. Using a figure of speech unsurpassed for expressiveness, Jesus described them as straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel. The gnat, a tiny insect that often fell into a cup of sweet wine, was strained out by sucking the wine through the teeth. How ludicrous to take such care with the insignificant, then bolt down the largest unclean animal in Palestine! The Pharisees were infinitely concerned with minutiae, but grossly blind to enormous sins like hypocrisy, dishonesty, cruelty, and greed. They had lost their sense of proportion.

23:25, 26 The sixth woe concerns externalism. The Pharisees, careful to maintain an outward show of religiousness and morality, had hearts filled with extortion and self-indulgence.44 They should first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that is, make sure their hearts were cleansed through repentance and faith. Then, and only then, would their outward behavior be acceptable. There is a difference between our person and our personality. We tend to emphasize the personality—what we want others to think we are. God emphasizes the person—what we really are. He desires truth in the inward being (Ps. 51:6).

23:27, 28 The seventh woe also strikes out against externalism. The difference is that the sixth woe castigates the concealment of avarice, whereas the seventh condemns the concealment of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Tombs were whitewashed so that Jewish people would not inadvertently touch them and thus be ceremonially defiled. Jesus likened the scribes and Pharisees to whitewashed tombs, which looked clean on the outside but were full of corruption inside. Men thought that contact with these religious leaders would be sanctifying, but actually it was a defiling experience because they were full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

23:29, 30 The final woe was against what we might label outward homage, inward homicide. The scribes and Pharisees pretended to honor the OT prophets by building and/or repairing their tombs and putting wreaths on their monuments. In memorial speeches, they said they would not have joined their ancestors in killing the prophets.

23:31 Jesus said to them, “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.” But how did they witness this? It almost seems from the preceding verse that they dissociated themselves from their fathers who killed the prophets. First, they admitted that their fathers, of whom they were physical sons, shed the blood of the prophets. But Jesus used the word sons in the sense of meaning people with the same characteristics. He knew that even as they were decorating the prophets’ graves, they were plotting His death. Second, in showing such respect for the dead prophets, they were saying, “The only prophets we like are dead ones.” In this sense also they were sons of their fathers.

23:32 Then our Lord added, “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.” The fathers had filled the cup of murder part way by killing the prophets. The scribes and Pharisees would soon fill it to the brim by killing the Lord Jesus and His followers, thus bringing to a terrible climax what their fathers had begun.

23:33 At this point the Christ of God utters those thunderous words, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” Can Incarnate Love speak such scathing words? Yes, because true love must also be righteous and holy. The popular conception of Jesus as an innocuous reformer, capable of no emotion but love, is unbiblical. Love can be firm, and must always be just.

It is solemn to remember that these words of condemnation were hurled at religious leaders, not at drunkards and reprobates. In an ecumenical age when some evangelical Christians are joining forces with avowed enemies of the cross of Christ, it is good to ponder the example of Jesus, and to remember the words of Jehu to Jehoshaphat: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?” (2 Chron. 19:2).

23:34, 35 Jesus not only foresaw His own death; He plainly told the scribes and Pharisees that they would murder some of the messengers whom He would send—prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some who escaped martyrdom would be scourged in the synagogues and persecuted from city to city. Thus the religious leaders of Israel would heap to themselves the accumulated guilt of the history of martyrdom. Upon them would come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from … Abel … to … Zechariah, whose murder is recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:20, 21, the last book in the Hebrew arrangement of the Bible. (This is not Zechariah, author of the OT book.)

23:36 The guilt of all the past would come on the generation or race to which Christ was speaking, as if all previous shedding of innocent blood somehow combined and climaxed in the death of the sinless Savior. A torrent of punishment would be poured out on the nation that hated its Messiah without a cause and nailed Him to a criminal’s cross.

O. Jesus Laments over Jerusalem (23:37–39)

23:37 It is highly significant that the chapter which, more than almost any other, contains the woes of the Lord Jesus, closes with His tears! After His bitter denunciation of the Pharisees, He utters a poignant lament over the city of lost opportunity. The repetition of the name—“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem”—is charged with unutterable emotion. She had killed the prophets and stoned God’s messengers, yet the Lord loved her, and would often have protectingly and lovingly gathered her children to Himself—as a hen gathers her chicks—but she was not willing.

23:38 In closing His lament, the Lord Jesus said, “See! Your house is left to you desolate.” Primarily the house here is the temple, but may also include the city of Jerusalem and the nation itself. There would be an interval between His death and Second Coming during which unbelieving Israel would not see Him (after His resurrection He was seen only by believers).

23:39 Verse 39 looks forward to the Second Advent when a believing portion of Israel will accept Him as their Messiah-King. This acceptance is implicit in the words, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.”

There is no suggestion that those who murdered Christ will have a second chance. He was speaking of Jerusalem and thus, by metonymy, of its inhabitants and of Israel in general. The next time the inhabitants of Jerusalem would see Him after His death would be when they would look on Him whom they pierced and mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son (Zech. 12:10). In Jewish reckoning there is no mourning as bitter as that for an only son.

XIII. THE KING’S OLIVET DISCOURSE (Chaps. 24, 25)

Chapters 24 and 25 form what is known as the Olivet Discourse, so named because this important pronouncement was given on the Mount of Olives. The discourse is entirely prophetic; it points forward to the Tribulation Period and the Lord’s Second Coming. It primarily, though not exclusively, concerns the nation of Israel. Its locale is obviously Palestine; for example, “let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (24:16). Its setting is distinctly Jewish; for example, “Pray that your flight may not be … on the Sabbath” (24:20). The reference to the elect (24:22) should be understood as God’s Jewish elect, not the church. The church is not found in either the prophecies or parables of the discourse, as we shall seek to demonstrate.

A. Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple (24:1, 2)

The discourse is introduced by the significant statement that Jesus went out and departed from the temple This movement is especially significant in view of the words He had just uttered, “ … your house is left to you desolate” (23:38). It reminds us of Ezekiel’s description of the glory departing from the temple (Ezek. 9:3; 10:4; 11:23).

The disciples wanted the Lord to admire the architectural beauty of the temple with them. They were occupied with the transient instead of the eternal, concerned with shadows rather than substance. Jesus warned that the building would be so completely destroyed that not one stone would be left on top of another. Titus tried unsuccessfully to save the temple, but his soldiers put it to the torch, thus fulfilling Christ’s prophecy. When the fire melted the gold trim, the molten metal ran down between the stones. To get at it, the soldiers had to remove the stones one by one, just as our Lord predicted. This judgment was executed in A.D. 70 when the Romans under Titus sacked Jerusalem.

B. The First Half of the Tribulation (24:3–14)

24:3 After Jesus had crossed over to the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and asked Him three questions:

1. When would these things happen; that is, when would the temple be destroyed?

2. What would be the sign of His coming; that is, what supernatural event would precede His return to the earth to set up His kingdom?

3. What would be the sign of the end of the age; that is, what would announce the end of the age immediately prior to His glorious reign? (The second and third questions are essentially the same.)

We must remember that these Jewish disciples’ thinking revolved around the glorious age of the Messiah on earth. They were not thinking about Christ’s coming for the church; they knew little if anything about this phase of His coming. Their expectation was His coming in power and glory to destroy His enemies and rule over the world.

Also we should be clear that they were not talking about the end of the world (as in the KJV), but the end of the age (Gk. aiōn).

Their first question is not answered directly. Rather the Savior seems to merge the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (see Luke 21:20–24) with a similar siege that will occur in the latter days. In the study of prophecy, we often see the Lord moving almost imperceptibly from an early, partial fulfillment to a later, final fulfillment.

The second and third questions are answered in verses 4–44 of chapter 24. These verses describe the seven year Tribulation Period which will precede Christ’s glorious Advent. The first three and one-half years are described in verses 4–14. The final three and one-half years, known as the Great Tribulation and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jer. 30:7), will be a time of unprecedented suffering for those on earth.

Many of the conditions characterizing the first half of the Tribulation have existed to an extent throughout human history, but will appear in greatly intensified form during the period under discussion. Those in the church have been promised tribulation (John 16:33), but this is far different from the Tribulation which will be poured out on a world that has rejected God’s Son.

We believe that the church will be taken out of the world (1 Thess. 4:13–18) before the day of God’s wrath begins (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; 2 Thess. 2:1–12; Rev. 3:10).

24:4, 5 During the first half of the Tribulation, many false messiahs will appear who will succeed in deceiving multitudes. The current rise of many false cults may be a prelude to this, but it is not a fulfillment. These false religious leaders will be Jews claiming to be the Christ.

24:6, 7 There will be wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. It would be easy to think that we are seeing this fulfilled today, but what we see is mild compared to what will be. Actually the next event in God’s time schedule is the Rapture of the church (John 14:1–6; 1 Cor. 15:51–57). There is no prophecy to be fulfilled before then. After the church is removed, God’s prophetic clock will begin and these conditions will quickly manifest themselves. Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes will occur in various parts of the earth. Even today world leaders are alarmed by the specter of famine due to the population explosion. But this will be accentuated by the shortages caused by wars.

Earthquakes are attracting increasing attention—not only those now occurring but also those that are expected. Once again, these are straws in the wind, and not the actual fulfillment of our Savior’s words.

24:8 Verse 8 clearly identifies this period as the beginning of sorrows—the onset of birth-pangs which will bring forth a new order under Israel’s Messiah-King.

24:9, 10 Faithful believers will experience great personal testing during the Tribulation. The nations will conduct a bitter hate campaign against all who are true to Him. Not only will they be tried in religious and civil courts (Mark 13:9), but many will be martyred because they refuse to recant. While such testings have occured during all periods of Christian testimony, this seems to have particular reference to the 144,000 Jewish believers who will have a special ministry during this period.

Many will apostatize rather than suffer and die. Family members will inform against their own relatives and betray them into the hands of bestial persecutors.

24:11 Many false prophets will appear and deceive hordes of people. These are not to be confused with the false messiahs of verse 5. False prophets claim to be spokesmen for God. They can be detected in two ways: their prophecies do not always come to pass, and their teachings always lead men away from the true God. The mention of false prophets adds confirmation to our statement that the Tribulation is primarily Jewish in character. False prophets are associated with the nation of Israel; in the church the danger comes from false teachers (2 Pet. 2:1).

24:12 With wickedness rampaging, human affections will be less and less evident. Acts of unlove will be commonplace.

24:13 “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” This obviously does not mean that men’s souls will be saved at that time by their enduring; salvation is always presented in the Bible as a gift of God’s grace, received by faith in Christ’s substitutionary death and resurrection. Neither can it mean that all who endure will escape physical harm; we have already learned that many believers will be martyred (v. 9). It is a general statement that those who stand fast, enduring persecution without apostatizing, will be delivered at Christ’s Second Advent. No one should imagine that apostasy will be a means of escape or safety. Only those who have true faith shall be saved. Although saving faith may have lapses, it always has the quality of permanence.

24:14 During this period, the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed worldwide, as a witness to all nations. As explained in the notes on 4:23, the gospel of the kingdom is the good news that Christ is coming to set up His kingdom on earth, and that those who receive Him by faith during the Tribulation will enjoy the blessings of His Millennial Reign.

Verse 14 is often misused to show that Christ could not return for His church at any moment because so many tribes have not yet heard the gospel. The difficulty is removed when we realize that this refers to His coming with His saints, rather than for His saints. And this refers to the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of the grace of God (see notes on 4:23).

There is a striking parallel between the events listed in verses 3–14 and those of Revelation 6:1–11. The rider on the white horse—false messiah; the rider of the red horse—war; the rider of the black horse—famine; the rider of the pale horse—pestilence or death. The souls under the altar are martyrs. The events described in Revelation 6:12–17 are linked with those in Matthew 24:19–31.

C. The Great Tribulation (24:15–28)

24:15 At this point we have come to the middle of the Tribulation. We know this by comparing verse 15 with Daniel 9:27. Daniel predicted that in the middle of the seventieth week, that is, at the end of three and a half years, an idolatrous image would be set up in the holy place (i.e., the temple in Jerusalem). All men will be ordered to worship this abominable idol. Failure to comply will be punishable by death (Rev. 13:15).

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)…. The erection of the idol will be the signal to those who know the Word of God that the Great Tribulation has begun. Note that the Lord wants the one who reads the prophecy to understand it.

24:16 Those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains; in the vicinity of Jerusalem their refusal to bow to the image would be quickly detected.

24:17–19 Utmost haste will be necessary. If a man is sitting on the housetop, he should leave all his possessions behind. Time spent in gathering belongings might mean the difference between life and death. The man working in the field should not return for his clothes, wherever he may have left them. Pregnant women and nursing mothers will be at a distinct disadvantage—it will be hard for them to make a speedy escape.

24:20 Believers should pray that the crisis will not come in winter with its added travel hazards, and that it will not come on the Sabbath, when the distance they could travel would be limited by law (Ex. 16:29). A Sabbath day’s journey would not be enough to take them out of the danger area.

24:21 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” This description isolates the period from all the inquisitions, pogroms, purges, massacres, and genocides of history. This prophecy could not have been fulfilled by any previous persecutions because it is clearly stated that it will be ended by the Second Advent of Christ.

24:22 The tribulation will be so intense that unless those days were shortened, nobody would survive. This cannot mean that the Great Tribulation, so often specified as lasting three and a half years, will be shortened. It probably means that God will miraculously shorten the daylight hours—during which most fighting and slaughter occur. For the elect’s sake, (those who have received Jesus) the Lord will grant the respite of earlier darkness.

24:23–26 Verses 23 and 24 contain renewed warnings against false messiahs and false prophets. In an atmosphere of crisis, reports will circulate that the Messiah is in some secret location. Such reports could be used to trap those who sincerely and lovingly look for Christ. So the Lord warns all disciples not to believe reports of a local, secret Advent. Even those who perform miracles are not necessarily from God; miracles can be satanic in origin. The Man of Sin will be given satanic power to perform miracles (2 Thess. 2:9, 10).

24:27 Christ’s Advent will be unmistakable—it will be sudden, public, universal, and glorious. Like the lightning, it will be instantly and clearly visible to all.

24:28 And no moral corruption will escape its fury and judgment. “For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” The carcass pictures apostate Judaism, Christendom, and the whole world system that is leagued against God and His Christ. The eagles or vultures typify the judgments of God which will be unleashed in connection with the Messiah’s appearing.

D. The Second Advent (24:29–31)

24:29 At the close of the Great Tribulation there will be terrifying disturbances in the heavens. The sun will be darkened, and since the moon’s light is only a reflection of the sun’s, the moon will also withhold its light. The stars will plunge from heaven, and planets will be moved out of their orbits. Needless to say, such vast cosmic upheavals will affect the weather, tides, and seasons on earth.

A faint idea of what it will be like is given in Velikovsky’s description of what would happen if a heavenly body came close to the earth and caused it to tilt on its axis:

At that moment an earthquake would make the earth shudder. Air and water would continue to move through inertia; hurricanes would sweep the earth and the seas would rush over continents, carrying gravel and sand and marine animals, and casting them on the land. Heat would be developed, rocks would melt, volcanoes would erupt, lava would flow from fissures in the ruptured ground and cover vast areas. Mountains would spring up from the plains and would travel and climb on the shoulders of other mountains, causing faults and rifts. Lakes would be tilted and emptied, rivers would change their beds; large land areas with all their inhabitants would slip under the sea. Forests would burn and the hurricane and wild seas would wrest them from the ground on which they grew and pile them, branch and root, in huge heaps. Seas would turn into deserts, their waters flowing away.45

24:30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven.” We are not told what this sign will be. His First Advent was accompanied by a sign in heaven—the star. Perhaps a miracle star will also announce His Second Coming. Some believe the Son of Man is Himself the sign. Whatever is meant, it will be clear to all when it appears. All the tribes of the earth will mourn—no doubt because of their rejection of Him. But primarily the tribes of the land46 will mourn—the twelve tribes of Israel. “ … [T]hen they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn” (Zech. 12:10).

Then “they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” What a wonderful moment! The One who was spit upon and crucified will be vindicated as the Lord of life and glory. The meek and lowly Jesus will appear as Jehovah Himself. The sacrificial Lamb will descend as the conquering Lion. The despised Carpenter of Nazareth will come as King of kings and Lord of lords. His chariots will be the clouds of heaven. He will come in regal power and splendor—the moment for which creation has groaned for thousands of years.

24:31 When He descends, He will send His angels throughout the earth to gather together His elect people, believing Israel, to the land of Palestine. From all the earth they will gather to greet their Messiah and to enjoy His glorious reign.

E. The Parable of the Fig Tree (24:32–35)

24:32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree.” Again our Lord draws a spiritual lesson from nature. When the branches of the fig tree become green and tender, you know that summer is near. We have seen that the fig tree pictures the nation of Israel (21:18–22). For hundreds of years Israel has been dormant, with no government of its own, no land, no temple, no priesthood—no sign of national life. The people have been scattered throughout the world.

Then, in 1948, Israel became a nation with its own land, government, currency, stamps, etc. Spiritually, the nation is still barren and cold; there is no fruit for God. But nationally, we might say that its branches are green and tender.

24:33 “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors!” Israel’s emergence as a nation means not only that the beginning of the Tribulation is near, but that the Lord Himself is near, at the very doors!

If Christ’s coming to reign is so near, how much more imminent is the Rapture of the church? If we already see shadows of events that must precede His appearing in glory, how much closer are we to the first phase of His Parousia, or Advent (1 Thess. 4:13–18)?

24:34 After referring to the fig tree, Jesus added, “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” “This generation” could not mean the people living when Christ was on earth; they have all passed away, yet the events of chapter 24 have not taken place. What then did our Lord mean by “this generation”? There are two plausible explanations.

F. W. Grant and others believe the thought is: “the very generation that sees the beginning of these things will see the end.”47 The same people who see the rise of Israel as a nation (or who see the beginning of the Tribulation), will see the Lord Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven to reign.

The other explanation is that “generation” should be understood as race. This is a legitimate translation of the Greek word; it means men of the same stock, breed, or family (Matt. 12:45; 23:35, 36). So Jesus was predicting that the Jewish race would survive to see all these things accomplished. Their continued survival, despite atrocious persecution, is a miracle of history.

But I think there is an added thought. In Jesus’ day, “this generation” was a race that steadfastly refused to acknowledge Him as Messiah. I think He was predicting that national Israel would continue in its Christ-rejecting condition till His Second Coming. Then all rebellion will be crushed, and only those who willingly submit to His rule will be spared to enter the Millennium.

24:35 To emphasize the unfailing character of His predictions, Jesus added that heaven and earth would pass away but His words would by no means pass away. In speaking of heaven passing away, He was referring to the stellar and atmospheric heavens—the blue firmament above us—not to that heaven which is the dwelling place of God (2 Cor. 12:2–4). The dissolution of the heaven and the earth is described in 2 Peter 3:10–13 and mentioned again in Revelation 20:11.

F. The Day and Hour Unknown (24:36–44)

24:36 As to the exact day and hour of His Second Advent, “no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,48 but My Father only.” This should warn against the temptation to set dates or to believe those who do. We are not surprised that angels do not know; they are finite creatures with limited knowledge.

While those living prior to Christ’s return will not know its day or hour, it seems that those familiar with the prophecy may be able to know the year. They will know, for instance, that it will be approximately three and one-half years after the idol image is set up in the temple (Dan. 9:27; see also Dan. 7:25; 12:7, 11; Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:14; 13:5).

24:37–39 In those days, however, most people will be indifferent, just as in the days of Noah. Although the days before the flood were terribly wicked, that is not the feature emphasized here. The people ate, drank, married, gave in marriage; in other words, they went through the routines of life as if they were going to live forever. Though warned that a flood was coming, they lived as if they were flood-proof. When it came, they were unprepared, outside the only place of safety. That is just the way it will be when Christ returns. Only those who are in Christ, the ark of safety, will be delivered.

24:40, 41 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken away in judgment, the other will be left to enter the Millennium. Two women will be grinding at the mill; they will be instantly separated. One will be swept away by the flood of judgment; the other left to enjoy the blessings of Christ’s reign. (vv. 40 and 41 are often used as a warning to the unsaved, in reference to the Rapture—the first phase of Christ’s coming when He takes all believers to heaven and leaves all unbelievers behind for judgment. While that might be a valid application of the passage, the context makes it clear that the interpretation has to do with Christ’s coming to reign.)

24:42–44 In view of the uncertainty as to the day and the hour, men ought to watch. If someone knows his house is going to be broken into, he will be ready, even if he doesn’t know the exact time. The Son of Man will come when least expected by the masses. Therefore, His people should be on the tiptoes of expectancy.

G. Parable of the Wise and the Evil Servants (24:45–51)

24:45–47 In the closing section of this chapter, the Lord Jesus shows that a servant manifests his true character by how he behaves in view of his Master’s return. All servants are supposed to feed the household at the proper time. But not all who profess to be Christ’s servants are genuine.

The wise servant is the one who is found caring for God’s people. Such a one will be honored with vast responsibility in the kingdom. The master will make him ruler over all his goods.

24:48–51 The evil servant represents a nominal believer whose behavior is not affected by the prospect of his Master’s soon return. He begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards. Such behavior demonstrates that he is not ready for the kingdom. When the King comes, He will punish him and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, where people weep and gnash their teeth.

This parable refers to Christ’s visible return to earth as Messiah-King. But the principle equally applies to the Rapture. Many who profess to be Christians show by their hostility toward God’s people and their fraternization with the ungodly that they are not looking for Christ’s Return. For them it will mean judgment and not blessing.

H. Parable of the Ten Virgins (25:1–13)

25:1–5 The first word, Then, referring back to chapter 24, clearly places this parable in the time preceding and during the King’s return to earth. Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven at that time to ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and had oil for their lamps; the others had none. While waiting, all fell asleep.

The five wise virgins represent true disciples of Christ in the Tribulation. The lamps speak of profession, and oil is generally acknowledged to be a type of the Holy Spirit. The foolish virgins represent those who profess to hold the Messianic hope but who have never been converted and thus do not have the Holy Spirit. The bridegroom is Christ, the King; His delay symbolizes the period between His two Advents. The fact that all ten virgins slept shows that outwardly there was not much to differentiate them.

25:6 At midnight the announcement rang out that the bridegroom was coming. In the previous chapter we learned that His arrival will be heralded by awesome signs.

25:7–9 The virgins arose and trimmed their lamps—all wanted to appear ready. The foolish ones, lacking oil, asked the others for some, but were sent to buy some. The wise ones’ refusal seems selfish, but in the spiritual realm, no one can dispense the Spirit to another. Of course, the Holy Spirit cannot be purchased, but the Bible does use the literary figure of buying salvation without money and without price.

25:10–12 While they were gone the bridegroom came. The Syriac and Vulgate versions say that he came with his bride. This fits the prophetic picture perfectly. The Lord Jesus will return from the wedding with His bride, the church (1 Thess. 3:13). (The wedding takes place in heaven [Eph. 5:27] after the Rapture.) The faithful remnant of Tribulation saints will go in with Him to the marriage feast. The marriage feast is a fitting designation of the joy and blessing of Christ’s earthly kingdom. The wise virgins went in with him to the wedding (or wedding feast, JND); and the door was closed. It was too late for anyone else to get into the kingdom. When the other virgins came seeking admittance, the bridegroom disavowed knowing them—a clear proof that they had never been born again.

25:13 The lesson, Jesus said, was to watch, because the day and hour of His coming are unknown. Believers should live as if the Lord might come at any moment. Are our lamps trimmed and filled with oil?

I. Parable of the Talents (25:14–30)

25:14–18 This parable also teaches that when the Lord returns, there will be true and false servants. The story revolves around a man who, before going on a long journey, assembled his own servants and gave to each varying amounts of money, according to his own ability. One got five talents, another got two, and the last, one. They were to use this money to bring income to the master. The man with five earned another five talents. The man with two doubled his also. But the man with one went and dug a hole and buried it.

It is not difficult to see that Christ is the master and the long journey is the inter-advent period. The three servants are Israelites living during the Tribulation, responsible to represent the interests of the absent Lord. They are given responsibility according to their individual abilities.

25:19–23 After a long time the lord … came back and settled accounts with them. This depicts the Second Advent. The first two received exactly the same commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” The test of their service was not how much they earned, but how hard they tried. Each used his ability fully and earned one hundred percent. These represent true believers whose reward is to enjoy the blessings of the Messianic kingdom.

25:24, 25 The third servant had nothing but insults and excuses for his master. He accused him of being hard and unreasonable, reaping where he had not sown, and gathering where he had not scattered seed. He excused himself on the basis that, paralyzed with fear, he buried his talent. This servant was doubtless an unbeliever; no genuine servant would entertain such thoughts of his master.

25:26, 27 His lord rebuked him as wicked and lazy. Having such thoughts of his master, why hadn’t he deposited his money with the bankers to earn interest? Incidentally, in verse 26, the master is not agreeing with the charges against him. Rather he is saying, “If that’s the kind of master you thought I am, all the more reason to have put the talent to work. Your words condemn, not excuse you.”

25:28, 29 If this man had earned one talent with his talent, he would have received the same commendation as the others. Instead, all he had to show for his life was a hole in the ground! His talent was taken and given to the man with ten talents. This follows a fixed law in the spiritual realm: “To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” Those who desire to be used for God’s glory are given the means. The more they do, the more they are enabled to do for Him. Conversely, we lose what we don’t use. Atrophy is the reward of indolence.

The mention of the bankers in verse 27 suggests that if we cannot use our possessions for the Lord, we should turn them over to others who can. The bankers in this case may be missionaries, Bible societies, Christian publishing houses, gospel radio programs, etc. In a world like ours, there is no excuse for leaving money idle. Pierson helpfully recommends:

Timid souls, unfitted for bold and independent service in behalf of the kingdom, may link their incapacity to the capacity and sagacity of others who will make their gifts and possessions of use to the Master and His Church…. The steward has money, or it may be other gifts, that can be made of use, but he lacks faith and foresight, practical energy and wisdom. The Lord’s “exchangers” can show him how to get gain for the Master…. The Church partly exists that the strength of one member may help the weakness of another, and that by cooperation of all, the power of the least and weakest may be increased.49

25:30 The unprofitable servant was cast out—excluded from the kingdom. He shared the anguished fate of the wicked. It was not his failure to invest the talent that condemned him; rather his lack of good works showed that he lacked saving faith.

J. The King Judges the Nations (25:31–46)

25:31 This section describes the Judgment of the Nations, which is to be distinguished from the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Judgment of the Great White Throne.

The Judgment Seat of Christ, a time of review and reward for believers only, takes place after the Rapture (Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:11–15; 2 Cor. 5:9, 10). The Judgment of the Great White Throne takes place in eternity, after the Millennium. The wicked dead will be judged and consigned to the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11–15).

The Judgment of the Nations, or Gentiles (the Greek word can mean either), takes place on earth after Christ comes to reign, as verse 31 clearly states: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him.” If we are right in identifying it with Joel 3, the location is the Valley of Jehoshaphat, outside Jerusalem (3:2). The nations will be judged according to their treatment of Christ’s Jewish brethren during the Tribulation (Joel 3:1, 2, 12–14; Matt. 25:31–46).

25:32 It is important to notice that three classes are mentioned—sheep, goats, and Christ’s brethren. The first two classes, over whom Christ sits in judgment, are Gentiles living during the Tribulation. The third class is Christ’s faithful Jewish brethren who refuse to deny His Name during the Tribulation in spite of towering persecution.

25:33–40 The King places the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. He then invites the sheep to enter His glorious kingdom, prepared for them from the foundation of the world. The reason given is that they fed Him when hungry, gave Him drink when thirsty, welcomed Him when a stranger, clothed Him when ill-clad, visited Him in sickness, and went to Him in prison. The righteous sheep profess ignorance of ever showing such kindnesses to the King; He had not even been on earth in their generation. He explains that in befriending one of the least of His brethren, they befriended Him. Whatever is done for one of His disciples is rewarded as being done to Himself.

25:41–45 The unrighteous goats are told to depart from Him into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels because they failed to care for Him during the terrible Time of Jacob’s Trouble. When they excuse themselves by saying they had never seen Him, He reminds them that their neglect of His followers constituted neglect of Himself.

25:46 Thus the goats go away into everlasting punishment, but the sheep into eternal life. But this raises two problems. First, the passage seems to teach that nations are saved or lost en masse. Second, the narrative creates the impression that the sheep are saved by good works, and the goats are condemned through failure to do good. As to the first difficulty, it must be remembered that God does deal with nations as such. OT history abounds with instances of nations punished because of their sin (Isa. 10:12–19; 47:5–15; Ezek. 25:6, 7; Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6; Obad. 10; Zech. 14:1–5). It is not unreasonable to believe that nations will continue to experience divine retribution. This does not mean that every single individual in the nation will be involved in the outcome, but that the principles of divine justice will be applied on a national, as well as an individual basis.

The word ethnē, translated “nations” in this passage, can equally well be translated “Gentiles.” Some believe the passage describes the judgment of individual Gentiles. Whether nations or individuals, there is the problem of how such a vast horde could be gathered before the Lord in Palestine. Perhaps it is best to think of representatives of the nations or individual classes assembled for judgment.

As to the second problem, the passage cannot be used to teach salvation by works. The uniform testimony of the Bible is that salvation is by faith and not by works (Eph. 2:8, 9). But the Bible is just as emphatic in teaching that true faith produces good works. If there are no good works, it is an indication that the person was never saved. So we must understand that the Gentiles are not saved by befriending the Jewish remnant, but that this kindness reflects their love for the Lord.

Three other points should be mentioned. First, the kingdom is said to have been prepared for the righteous from the foundation of the world (v. 34), whereas hell was prepared for the devil and his angels (v. 41). God’s desire is that men should be blessed; hell was not originally intended for the human race. But if people willfully refuse life, they necessarily choose death.

The second point is that the Lord Jesus spoke of eternal (same word as everlasting) fire (v. 41), eternal punishment (v. 46), and eternal life (v. 46). The same One who taught eternal life taught eternal punishment. Since the same word for eternal is used to describe each, it is inconsistent to accept one without the other. If the word translated eternal does not mean everlasting, there is no word in the Greek language to convey the meaning. But we know that it does mean everlasting because it is used to describe the eternality of God (1 Tim. 1:17).

Finally the Judgment of the Gentiles reminds us forcefully that Christ and His people are one; what affects them affects Him. We have vast potential for showing kindness to Him by showing kindness to those who love Him.

XIV. THE KING’S PASSION AND DEATH (Chaps. 26, 27)

A. The Plot to Kill Jesus (26:1–5)

26:1, 2 For the fourth and last time in this Gospel our Lord forewarned His disciples that He must die (16:21; 17:23; 20:18). His announcement implied a close time relationship between the Passover and His crucifixion: “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” This year the Passover would find its true meaning. The Paschal Lamb had at last arrived and would soon be slain.

26:3–5 Even as He was uttering the words, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders were gathering in the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest, to map out their strategy. They wanted to arrest Him furtively and have Him killed, but did not think it prudent to do it during the feast; the people might react violently against His execution. It is incredible that Israel’s religious leaders took the lead in plotting the death of their Messiah. They should have been the first to recognize and to enthrone Him. Instead, they formed the vanguard of His enemies.

B. Jesus Anointed at Bethany (26:6–13)

26:6, 7 This incident provides a welcome relief, coming amid the treachery of the priests, the pettiness of the disciples, and the perfidy of Judas. When Jesus was at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany, a woman came in and poured out a flask of very expensive perfume on His head. The costliness of her sacrifice expressed the depth of her devotion for the Lord Jesus, saying, in effect, that there was nothing too good for Him.

26:8, 9 His disciples, and Judas in particular (John 12:4, 5), looked upon the act as an enormous waste. They thought the money might better have been given to the poor.

26:10–12 Jesus corrected their distorted thinking. Her act was not wasteful, but beautiful. Not only so, it was perfectly timed. The poor can be helped at any time. But only once in the world’s history could the Savior be anointed for burial. That moment had struck and one lone woman with spiritual discernment had seized it. Believing the Lord’s predictions concerning His death, she must have realized it was now or never. As it turned out, she was right. Those women who planned to anoint His body after His burial were thwarted by the resurrection (Mark 16:1–6).

26:13 The Lord Jesus immortalized her simple act of love: “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” Any act of true worship fills the courts of heaven with fragrance and is indelibly recorded in the Lord’s memory.

C. The Treachery of Judas (26:14–16)

26:14, 15 Then one of the twelve—one of the disciples who had lived with the Lord Jesus, traveled with Him, seen His miracles, heard His incomparable teaching, and witnessed the miracle of a sinless life—one whom Jesus could call “my familiar friend … who ate my bread” (Ps. 41:9)—it was that one who lifted up his heel against the Son of God. Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and agreed to sell his Master for thirty pieces of silver. The priests paid him on the spot—the contemptible total of about fifteen dollars.

It is striking to note the contrast between the woman who anointed Jesus at Simon’s home and Judas. She valued the Savior highly. Judas valued Him lightly.

26:16 And so the one who had received nothing but kindness from Jesus went out to arrange his part of the dreadful bargain.

D. The Last Passover (26:17–25)

26:17 It was the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread—a time when all leaven was removed from Jewish homes. What thoughts must have flooded the mind of the Lord as He sent the disciples into Jerusalem to prepare for … the Passover. Every detail of the meal would have poignant significance.

26:18–20 Jesus sent the disciples to look for a certain unnamed man who would lead them to the appointed house. Perhaps the vagueness of the instructions was designed to foil the conspirators. At any rate, we note Jesus’ full knowledge of individuals, their whereabouts, and their willingness to cooperate. Note His words, “The Teacher says, ‘My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’ ” He faced His approaching death with poise. With perfect grace, He arranged the meal. What a privilege for this anonymous man to lend his house for this final Passover!

26:21–24 As they were eating, Jesus made the shocking announcement that one of the twelve would betray Him. The disciples were filled with sorrow, chagrin, and self-distrust. One by one they asked, “Lord, is it I?” When all but Judas had inquired, Jesus told them that it was the one who dipped with Him in the dish. The Lord then took a piece of bread, dipped it in the meat juice, and handed it to Judas (John 13:26)—a token of special affection and friendship. He reminded them that there was a certain irresistibility in what was going to happen to Him. But that did not free the traitor from responsibility; it would be better for him if he had never been born. Judas deliberately chose to sell the Savior and is thus held personally responsible.

26:25 When Judas finally asked point-blank if he were the one, Jesus answered, “Yes.”

E. The First Lord’s Supper (26:26–29)

In John 13:30 we learn that as soon as Judas received the piece of bread, he went out, and it was night. We therefore conclude that he was not present when the Lord’s Supper was instituted (although there is considerable disagreement on this point).

26:26 After observing His last Passover, the Savior instituted what we know as the Lord’s Supper. The essential elements—bread and wine—were already on the table as part of the Paschal meal; Jesus clothed them with new meaning. First He took bread, blessed and broke it. As He gave it to the disciples He said, “Take, eat, this is My body.” Since His body had not yet been given on the cross, it is clear that He was speaking figuratively, using the bread to symbolize His body.

26:27, 28 The same is true of the cup; the container is used to express the thing contained. The cup contained the fruit of the vine, which in turn was a symbol of the blood of the new covenant. The new, unconditional covenant of grace would be ratified by His precious blood shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. His blood was sufficient to provide forgiveness for all. But here it was shed for many in that it was only effective in removing the sins of those who believe.

26:29 The Savior then reminded His disciples that He would not drink from the fruit of the vine with them again until He returned to earth to reign. Then the wine would have a new significance; it would speak of the joy and blessedness of His Father’s kingdom.

The question is often raised whether we should use leavened or unleavened bread, fermented or unfermented wine for the Lord’s Supper. There is little doubt that the Lord used unleavened bread and fermented wine (all wine in those days was fermented). Those who argue that leavened bread spoils the type (leaven is a picture of sin) should realize that the same is true of fermentation. It is a tragedy when we become so occupied with the elements that we fail to see the Lord Himself. Paul emphasized that it is the spiritual meaning of the bread, not the bread itself, that counts. “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:7, 8). It is not the leaven in the bread that matters, but the leaven in our lives!

F. The Self-Confident Disciples (26:30–35)

26:30 Following the Lord’s Supper, the little band sang a hymn, probably taken from Psalms 113–118—“the Great Hallel.” Then they left Jerusalem, crossed the Brook Kidron, and climbed the western slope of Olivet to the Garden of Gethsemane.

26:31 Throughout His earthly ministry the Lord Jesus had faithfully warned His disciples concerning the pathway ahead. Now He told them that they would all dissociate themselves from Him that night. Fear would overwhelm them when they saw the fury of the storm breaking. To save their own skins, they would forsake their Master. Zechariah’s prophecy would be fulfilled: “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (13:7).

26:32 But He did not leave them without hope. Though they would be ashamed of their association with Him, He would never forsake them. After rising from the dead, He would meet them in Galilee. Wonderful, never-failing Friend!

26:33, 34 Peter rashly interrupted to assure the Lord that although the others might desert Him, he would never do such a thing. Jesus corrected the “never” to “this night … three times.” Before the rooster crowed, the impetuous disciple would deny his Master three times.

26:35 Still protesting his loyalty, Peter insisted that he would die with Christ rather than deny Him. All the disciples chimed in their agreement. They were sincere; they meant what they said. It was just that they didn’t know their own hearts.

G. The Agony in Gethsemane (26:36–46)

No one can approach this account of the Garden of Gethsemane without realizing that he is walking on holy ground. Anyone who attempts to comment on it feels a tremendous sense of awe and reticence. As Guy King wrote, “The supernal character of the event causes one to fear lest one should in any way spoil it by touching it.”

26:36–38 After entering Gethsemane (meaning olive vat or olive press), Jesus told eight of the eleven disciples with Him to sit and wait, then took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee deeper into the garden. Might this suggest that different disciples have different capacities for empathizing with the Savior in His agony?

He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. He frankly told Peter, James, and John that His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. This was doubtless the unspeakable revulsion of His holy soul as He anticipated becoming a sin-offering for us. We who are sinful cannot conceive what it meant to Him, the Sinless One, to be made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21).

26:39 It is not surprising that He left the three and went a little farther into the garden. No one else could share His suffering or pray His prayer: “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Lest we think this prayer expressed reluctance or a desire to turn back, we should remember His words in John 12:27, 28: “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Therefore, in praying that the cup might pass from Him, He was not asking to be delivered from going to the cross. That was the very purpose of His coming into the world!

The prayer was rhetorical, that is, it was not intended to elicit an answer but to teach us a lesson. Jesus was saying in effect, “My Father, if there is any other way by which ungodly sinners can be saved than by My going to the cross, reveal that way now! But in all of this, I want it known that I desire nothing contrary to Your will.”

What was the answer? There was none; the heavens were silent. By this eloquent silence we know that there was no other way for God to justify guilty sinners than for Christ, the sinless Savior, to die as our Substitute.

26:40, 41 Returning to the disciples, He found them sleeping. Their spirits were willing; their flesh was weak. We dare not condemn them when we think of our own prayer lives; we sleep better than we pray, and our minds wander when they should be watching. How often the Lord has to say to us as He said to Peter, “Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

26:42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, expressing submission to the Father’s will. He would drink the cup of suffering and death to the dregs.

He was necessarily alone in His prayer life. He taught the disciples to pray, and He prayed in their presence, but He never prayed with them. The uniqueness of His Person and work precluded others from sharing in His prayer life.

26:43–45 When He came to the disciples the second time, they were asleep again. Likewise the third time: He prayed, they slept. It was then He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.”

26:46 The opportunity of watching with Him in His vigil was gone. The footsteps of the traitor were already audible. Jesus said, “Rise, let us be going”—not in retreat but to face the foe.

Before we leave the garden, let us pause once more to hear His sobs, to ponder His sorrow, and to thank Him with all our hearts.

H. Jesus Betrayed and Arrested in Gethsemane (26:47–56)

The betrayal of the sinless Savior by one of His own creatures presents one of the most amazing anomalies of history. Apart from human depravity we would be at a loss to explain the base, inexcusable treachery of Judas.

26:47 While Jesus was still speaking to the eleven, Judas arrived with a gang armed with swords and clubs. Surely the weapons were not Judas’s idea; he had never seen the Savior resist or fight back. Perhaps the weapons symbolized the determination of the chief priests and elders to capture Him without any possibility of escape.

26:48 Judas would use a kiss as the sign to help the mob distinguish Jesus from His disciples. The universal symbol of love was to be prostituted to its lowest use.

26:49 As he approached the Lord, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” then kissed Him profusely. Two different words for kiss are used in this passage. The first, in verse 48, is the usual word for kiss. But in verse 49 a stronger word is used, expressing repeated or demonstrative kissing.

26:50 With poise and convicting penetration, Jesus asked, “Friend, why have you come?” No doubt the question came with scalding power to Judas, but events were moving fast now. The mob surged in and seized the Lord Jesus without delay.

26:51 One of the disciples—we know from John 18:10 that it was Peter—drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. It is unlikely that Peter had aimed for the ear; he had doubtless planned a mortal blow. That his aim was as poor as his judgment must be attributed to divine Providence.

26:52 The moral glory of the Lord Jesus shines radiantly here. First He rebuked Peter: “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” In Christ’s kingdom, victories are not won by carnal means. To resort to armed force in spiritual warfare is to invite disaster. Let the enemies of the kingdom use the sword; they will eventually meet defeat. Let the soldier of Christ resort to prayer, the Word of God, and the power of a Spirit-filled life.

We learn from Dr. Luke that Jesus then healed the ear of Malchus—for that was the victim’s name (Luke 22:51; John 18:10). Is this not a wonderful display of grace? He loved those who hated Him and showed kindness to those who were after His life.

26:53, 54 If Jesus had desired to resist the mob, He would not have been limited to Peter’s puny sword. In an instant He could have asked for and been sent more than twelve legions of angels (from 36,000 to 72,000). But that would only have frustrated the divine program. The Scriptures predicting His betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection had to be fulfilled.

26:55 Then Jesus reminded the crowds how incongruous it was for them to come out after Him with weapons. They had never seen Him resort to violence or engage in plunder. Rather, He had been a quiet Teacher, daily sitting in the temple. They could easily have captured Him then, but didn’t. Why come now with swords and clubs? Humanly speaking, their behavior was irrational.

26:56 Yet the Savior realized that man’s wickedness was succeeding only in accomplishing the definite plan of God. “All this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Realizing there would be no deliverance for their Master, all the disciples forsook Him and fled in panic. If their cowardice was inexcusable, ours is more so. They had not yet been indwelt by the Holy Spirit; we have.

I. Jesus Before Caiaphas (26:57–68)

26:57 There were two main trials of the Lord Jesus: a religious trial before the Jewish leaders, and a civil trial before the Roman authorities. Combining the accounts from all four Gospels shows that each trial had three stages. John’s account of the Jewish trial shows that Jesus was first brought before Caiaphas’ father-in-law, Annas. Matthew’s account begins with the second stage at the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. The Sanhedrin were assembled there. Ordinarily, accused men were given an opportunity to prepare their defense. But the desperate religious leaders hurried Jesus away from prison and justice (Isa. 53:8), in every way denying Him a fair trial.

On this particular night, the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, and elders who comprised the Sanhedrin showed an utter disregard for the rules under which they were supposed to operate. They were not supposed to meet at night nor during any of the Jewish feasts. They were not supposed to bribe witnesses to commit perjury. A death verdict was not to be carried out until a night had elapsed. And, unless they met in the Hall of Hewn Stone, in the temple area, their verdicts were not binding. In their eagerness to get rid of Jesus, the Jewish establishment did not hesitate to stoop to breaking their own laws.

26:58 Caiaphas was the presiding judge. The Sanhedrin apparently served as both jury and prosecution, an irregular combination, to say the least. Jesus was the Defendant. And Peter was a spectator—from a safe distance; he sat with the guards to see the end.

26:59–61 The Jewish leaders had a difficult time finding false testimony against Jesus. They would have been more successful had they fulfilled their prior obligation in the judicial process and sought evidence of His innocence. Finally, two false witnesses produced a garbled account of Jesus’ words: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19–21). According to the witnesses, He had threatened to destroy the temple in Jerusalem and then rebuild it. In fact, He had been predicting His own death and subsequent resurrection. The Jews now used that prediction as an excuse for killing Him.

26:62–63 During these accusations the Lord Jesus said nothing: “as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53:7). The high priest, irritated by His silence, pressed Him for a statement; still the Savior refrained from answering. The high priest then said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” The Law of Moses required that a Jew testify when put under oath by the high priest (Lev. 5:1).

26:64 Being an obedient Jew under the law, Jesus answered: “It is as you said.” He then asserted His Messiahship and deity even more strongly: “Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” In essence He was saying, “I am the Christ, the Son of God, as you have said. My glory is presently veiled in a human body; I appear to be just another man. You see Me in the days of My humiliation. But the day is coming when you Jews will see Me as the glorified One, equal in all respects with God, sitting at His right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

In verse 64 the first you50 is singular, referring to Caiaphas. The second you is plural (also the third), referring to the Jews as representative of those Israelites living at the time of Christ’s glorious appearing, who will clearly see that He is the Son of God.

“The assertion is sometimes made,” writes Lenski, “that Jesus never called Himself ‘The Son of God.’ Here (in v. 64) He swears that He is no less.”51

26:65–67 Caiaphas did not miss the point. Jesus had alluded to a Messianic prophecy of Daniel: “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.” The high priest’s reaction proves that he understood Jesus was claiming equality with God (see John 5:18). He tore his priestly clothes, a sign that the witness had blasphemed. His inflammatory words to the Sanhedrin assumed Jesus was guilty. When asked their verdict, the Council answered, “He is deserving of death.”

26:68 The second stage of the trial ended with the jurists striking and spitting upon the Accused, then taunting Him to use His power as Christ to identify His assailants. The entire proceeding was not only unjuridical, but scandalous.

J. Peter Denies Jesus and Weeps Bitterly (26:69–75)

26:69–72 Peter’s darkest hour had now arrived. As he sat outside in the courtyard, a young woman came by and accused him of being an associate of Jesus. His denial was vigorous and prompt: “I do not know what you are saying.” He went out to the gateway, perhaps to escape further notice. But there another girl publicly identified him as one who had been with Jesus of Nazareth. This time he swore that he did not know the Man. “The Man” was his Master.

26:73, 74 A little later several bystanders came saying, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” A simple denial was no longer sufficient; this time he confirmed it with oaths and curses. “I do not know the Man!” With disquieting timing, a rooster crowed.

26:75 The familiar sound pierced not only the quiet of the early hours but Peter’s heart as well. The deflated disciple, remembering what the Lord had said, went out and wept bitterly.

There is a seeming contradiction in the Gospels concerning the number and timing of the denials. In Matthew, Luke, and John, Jesus is reported as saying, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matt. 26:34; see also Luke 22:34; John 13:38). In Mark, the prediction is, “ … before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times” (Mark 14:30).

Possibly there was more than one rooster crowing, one during the night and another at dawn. Also it is possible that the Gospels record at least six different denials by Peter. He denied Christ before: (1) a young woman (Matt. 26:69, 70; Mark 14:66–68); (2) another young woman (Matt. 26:71, 72; Mark 14:69, 70); (3) the crowd that stood by (Matt. 26:73, 74; Mark 14:70, 71); (4) a man (Luke 22:58); (5) another man (Luke 22:59, 60); (6) a servant of the high priest (John 18:26, 27). We believe this last man is different from the others because he said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” The others are not described as saying this.

K. Morning Trial Before the Sanhedrin (27:1, 2)

The third stage of the religious trial took place before the Sanhedrin in the morning. No case was to be completed on the same day it was begun unless the defendant was acquitted. A night was supposed to elapse before the verdict was pronounced “so that feelings of mercy might have time to arise.” In this case the religious leaders seemed intent on stifling any feelings of mercy. However, since night trials were irregular, they convened a morning session to give legal validity to their verdict.

Under Roman rule the Jewish leaders had no authority to inflict capital punishment. Therefore we now see them hurrying Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Though their hatred of everything Roman was intense, they were willing to “use” this power to satisfy a greater hatred. Opposition to Jesus unites the bitterest foes.

L. Judas’s Remorse and Death (27:3–10)

27:3, 4 Realizing his sin in betraying innocent blood, Judas offered the money back to the chief priests and elders. These arch conspirators who had cooperated so eagerly a few hours ago now refused to have any further part in the matter. This is one of the rewards of treachery. Judas was remorseful, but this was not a godly repentance that leads to salvation. Sorry for the effects which his crime brought on himself, he was yet unwilling to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

27:5 In desperation Judas threw down the pieces of silver in the temple where only the priests could go, then went out and committed suicide. Comparing this narrative with Acts 1:18, we conclude that he hanged himself on a tree, that the rope or branch broke, and that his body was hurled over a precipice, causing it to be disemboweled.

27:6 The chief priests, too “spiritual” to put the money into the temple treasury because it was the price of blood, were the guilty ones who paid that money to have the Messiah turned over to them. This didn’t seem to bother them. As the Lord had said, they made the outside of the cup clean, but inside it was full of deceit, treachery, and murder.

27:7–10 They used the money to buy a potter’s field where unclean Gentile strangers might be buried, little realizing how many Gentile hordes would invade their land and splatter their streets with blood. It has been a Field of Blood for that guilty nation ever since.

The chief priests unwittingly fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy that the burial money would be used to make a purchase from a potter (Zech. 11:12, 13). Strangely enough, the Zechariah passage has an alternative reading—“treasury” for “potter” (see RSV).

The priests had scruples about putting blood money into the treasury so they fulfilled the prophecy of the other reading by giving it to the potter in exchange for his field. (Daily Notes of the Scripture Union).

Matthew assigns this prophecy to Jeremiah, whereas it obviously comes from the book of Zechariah. He probably labels the citation from Jeremiah because that prophet stood at the head of the prophetic roll he used, according to the ancient order preserved in numerous Hebrew manuscripts and familiar from Talmudic tradition. A similar usage occurs in Luke 24:44 where the book of Psalms gives its name to the entire third section of the Hebrew canon.

M. Jesus’ First Appearance Before Pilate (27:11–14)

The Jews’ real grievances against Jesus were religious, and they tried Him on that basis. But religious charges carried no weight in the court of Rome. Knowing that, when they brought Him before Pilate they pressed three political charges against Him (Luke 23:2): (1) He was a revolutionary who posed a threat to the empire; (2) He urged people not to pay taxes, therefore undermining the prosperity of the empire; (3) He claimed to be a King, therefore threatening the power and position of the emperor.

In Matthew’s Gospel we hear Pilate interrogating Him on the third charge. Asked if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus answered that He was. This brought forth a torrent of abuse and slander from the Jewish leaders. Pilate marveled greatly at the Defendant’s silence; He would not dignify even one of their charges with an answer. Probably never before had the governor seen anyone remain silent under such attack.

N. Jesus or Barabbas? (27:15–26)

27:15–18 It was customary for the Roman authorities to placate the Jews by releasing a Jewish prisoner at Passover time. One such eligible convict was Barabbas, a Jew guilty of insurrection and murder (Mark 15:7). As a rebel against Roman rule, he was probably popular with his countrymen. So when Pilate gave them a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, they clamored for the latter. The governor was not surprised; he knew that public opinion had been molded in part by the chief priests, who were envious of Jesus.

27:19 The proceedings were momentarily interrupted by a messenger from Pilate’s wife. She urged her husband to adopt a hands-off policy with regard to Jesus; she had had a very disturbing dream about Him.

27:20–23 Behind the scenes the chief priests and elders were passing the word for the release of Barabbas and the death of Jesus. So when Pilate asked the people again which one they wanted freed, they cried for the murderer. Snared in the web of his own indecisiveness, Pilate asked, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They unanimously demanded His crucifixion, an attitude incomprehensible to the governor. Why crucify Him? What crime had He committed? But it was too late to plead for calm deliberation; mob hysteria had taken over. The cry rang out, “Let Him be crucified!”

27:24 It was obvious to Pilate that the people were implacable and that a riot was beginning. So he washed his hands in sight of the mob, declaring his innocence of the blood of the Accused. But water will never absolve Pilate’s guilt in history’s gravest miscarriage of justice.

27:25 The crowd, too frenzied to worry about guilt, was willing to bear the blame: “His blood be on us and on our children!” Since then the people of Israel have staggered from ghetto to pogrom, from concentration camp to gas chamber, suffering the awful guilt of the blood of their rejected Messiah. They still face the fearsome Time of Jacob’s Trouble—those seven years of tribulation described in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6–19. The curse will remain until they acknowledge the rejected Jesus as their Messiah-King.

27:26 Pilate released Barabbas to the crowd, and the spirit of Barabbas has dominated the world ever since. The murderer is still enthroned; the righteous King is rejected. Then, as was customary, the condemned One was scourged. A large leather whip with bits of sharp metal embedded in it was brought down across His back, each lash opening up the flesh and releasing streams of blood. Now there was nothing for the spineless governor to do but to turn Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified.

O. The Soldiers Mock Jesus (27:27–31)

27:27, 28 The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s palace and gathered the whole garrison around Him—probably several hundred men. What followed is hard to imagine! The Creator and Sustainer of the universe suffered unspeakable indignities from cruel, vulgar soldiers—His unworthy, sinful creatures. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, in imitation of a king’s robe. But that robe has a message for us. Since scarlet is associated with sin (Isa. 1:18), I like to think that the robe pictures my sins being placed on Jesus so that God’s robe of righteousness might be placed on me (2 Cor. 5:21).

27:29, 30 They twisted a crown of thorns and pressed it down on His head. But beyond their crude jest, we understand that He wore a crown of thorns that we might wear a crown of glory. They mocked Him as the King of Sin; we worship Him as the Savior of sinners.

They also gave Him a reed—a mock scepter. They didn’t know that the hand that held that reed is the hand that rules the world. That nail-scarred hand of Jesus now holds the scepter of universal dominion.

They knelt before Him and addressed Him as King of the Jews. Not content with that, they spat on the face of the only perfect Man who ever lived, then took the reed and struck Him on the head with it.

Jesus bore it all patiently; He didn’t say a word. “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Heb. 12:3).

27:31 Finally they put His own clothes back on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

P. The Crucifixion of the King (27:32–44)

27:32 Our Lord carried His cross part of the way (John 19:17). Then the soldiers compelled a man named Simon (from Cyrene, in northern Africa) to carry it for Him. Some think he was a Jew; others that he was a black man. The important thing is that he had the wonderful privilege of bearing the cross.

27:33 Golgotha is Aramaic for “skull.” Calvary is the anglicized Latin translation of the Greek kranion. Perhaps the area was shaped like a skull or received the name because it was a place of execution. The site is uncertain.

27:34 Prior to His being impaled, the soldiers offered Jesus the sour wine and gall given to condemned criminals as an opiate. Jesus refused to take it. For Him it was necessary to bear the full load of man’s sins with no impairment of His senses, no alleviation of His pain.

27:35 Matthew describes the crucifixion simply and unemotionally. He does not indulge in dramatics, resort to sensational journalism, or dwell on sordid details. He simply states the fact: Then they crucified Him. Yet eternity itself will not exhaust the depths of those words.

As prophesied in Psalm 22:18, the soldiers divided His garments … and … cast lots for the seamless robe. This was His entire earthly estate. Denney said, “The one perfect life that has been lived in this world is the life of Him who owned nothing, and who left nothing but the clothes He wore.”

27:36 These soldiers were representatives of a world of little men. They apparently had no sense of history being made. If only they had known, they would not have sat down and kept watch; they would have knelt down and worshiped.

27:37 Over Christ’s head they had put the title, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. The exact wording of the superscription varies somewhat in the four Gospels.52 Mark says, “The King of the Jews” (15:26); Luke: “This is the King of the Jews” (23:38); and John: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (19:19). The chief priests protested that the title should not be a statement of fact, but the mere claim of the Accused. However, Pilate overruled them; the truth was there for all to see—in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (John 19:19–22).

27:38 The sinless Son of God was flanked by two robbers, because hadn’t Isaiah predicted 700 years previously that He would be numbered with the transgressors (53:12)? At first, both robbers hurled insult and invective at Him (v. 44). But one repented and was saved in the nick of time; in just a few hours he was with Christ in Paradise (Luke 23:42, 43).

27:39, 40 If the cross reveals God’s love, it also reveals man’s depravity. Passers-by paused long enough to jeer at the Shepherd as He was dying for the sheep: “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” This is the language of rationalistic unbelief. “Let us see and we will believe.” It is also the language of liberalism. “Come down from the cross—in other words, remove the offense of the cross and we will believe.” William Booth said, “They claimed they would have believed if He had come down; we believe because He stayed up.”

27:41–44 The chief priests, scribes, and elders joined the chorus. With unintentional insight they cried, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” They meant it as a taunt; we adapt it as a hymn of praise:

Himself He could not save,

He on the cross must die,

Or mercy cannot come

To ruined sinners nigh;

Yes, Christ the Son of God must bleed,

That sinners might from sin be freed.

—Albert Midlane

It was true in the Lord’s life and in ours, too. We can’t save others while seeking to save ourselves.

The religious leaders mocked His claim to be the Savior, His claim to be the King of Israel, His claim to be the Son of God. Even the robbers joined in their cursing. The religious leaders united with criminals in vilifying their God.

Q. Three Hours of Darkness (27:45–50)

27:45 All the sufferings and indignities which He bore at the hands of men were minor compared to what He now faced. From the sixth hour (noon) until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), there was darkness not only over all the land of Palestine but in His holy soul as well. It was during that time that He bore the indescribable curse of our sins. In those three hours were compressed the hell which we deserved, the wrath of God against all our transgressions. We see it only dimly; we simply cannot know what it meant for Him to satisfy all God’s righteous claims against sin. We only know that in those three hours He paid the price, settled the debt, and finished the work necessary for man’s redemption.

27:46 At about 3:00 p.m., He cried out with a loud voice, saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The answer is found in Psalm 22:3: “ … You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” Because God is holy, He cannot overlook sin. On the contrary, He must punish it. The Lord Jesus had no sin of His own, but He took the guilt of our sins upon Himself. When God, as Judge, looked down and saw our sins upon the sinless Substitute, He withdrew from the Son of His love. It was this separation that wrung from the heart of Jesus what Mrs. Browning so beautifully called “Immanuel’s orphaned cry”:

Deserted! God could separate from His own essence rather;

And Adam’s sins have swept between the righteous Son and Father:

Yea, once, Immanuel’s orphaned cry His universe hath shaken—

It went up single, echoless, “My God, I am forsaken!”

—Elizabeth Barrett Browning

27:47, 48 When Jesus cried, “Eli, Eli … ,” some of those who stood by said He was calling for Elijah. Whether they actually confused the names or were simply mocking is not clear. One used a long reed to lift a sponge soaked with sour wine to His lips. Judging from Psalm 69:21, this was not intended as an act of mercy but as an added form of suffering.

27:49 The general attitude was to wait and see if Elijah would fulfill the role Jewish tradition assigned to him—coming to the aid of the righteous. But it was not time for Elijah to come (Mal. 4:5); it was time for Jesus to die.

27:50 When He had cried out again with a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. The loud cry demonstrates that He died in strength, not in weakness. The fact that He yielded up His spirit distinguished His death from all others. We die because we have to; He died because He chose to. Had He not said, “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:17, 18)?

The Maker of the Universe

As man for man was made a curse;

The claims of laws which He had made,

Unto the uttermost He paid.

His holy fingers made the bough

Which grew the thorns that crowned His brow.

The nails that pierced his hands were mined

In secret places He designed;

He made the forests whence there sprung

The tree on which His body hung.

He died upon a cross of wood,

Yet made the hill on which it stood.

The sky that darkened o’er His head

By Him above the earth was spread;

The sun that hid from Him its face

By His decree was poised in space;

The spear that spilled His precious blood

Was tempered in the fires of God.

The grave in which His form was laid

Was hewn in rock His hands had made;

The throne on which He now appears

Was His from everlasting years;

But a new glory crowns His brow,

And every knee to Him shall bow.

—F. W. Pitt

R. The Torn Veil (27:51–54)

27:51 At the time He expired, the heavy, woven curtain separating the two main rooms of the temple was torn by an Unseen Hand from top to bottom. Up to then that veil had kept everyone except the high priest from the Holiest Place where God dwelt. Only one man could enter the inner sanctuary, and he could enter on only one day of the year.

In the book of Hebrews we learn that the veil represented the body of Jesus. Its rending pictured the giving of His body in death. Through His death, we have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Heb. 10:19, 20). Now the humblest believer can enter God’s presence in prayer and praise at any time. But let us never forget that the privilege was purchased for us at tremendous cost—the blood of Jesus.

The death of God’s Son also produced tremendous upheavals in nature—as if there was an empathy between inanimate creation and its Creator. There was an earthquake which split great rocks and opened many graves.

27:52, 53 But notice that it was not until after the resurrection of Jesus that the occupants of these tombs were raised and went into Jerusalem where they appeared to many. The Bible does not say whether these risen saints died again or went to heaven with the Lord Jesus.

27:54 The strange convulsions of nature convinced the Roman centurion and his men that Jesus was the Son of God (while there is no definite article in the Greek before Son of God, the word order does make it definite53). What did the centurion mean? Was this a full confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, or an acknowledgment that Jesus was more than man? We cannot be sure. It does indicate a sense of awe, and a realization that the disturbances of nature were somehow connected with the death of Jesus, and not with the death of those who were crucified with Him.

S. The Faithful Women (27:55, 56)

Special mention is made of the women who had faithfully ministered to the Lord, and who had followed Him all the way from Galilee to Jerusalem. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome, the wife of Zebedee, were there. The fearless devotion of these women stands out with special luster. They remained with Christ when the male disciples ran for their lives!

T. The Burial in Joseph’s Tomb (27:57–61)

27:57, 58 Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and member of the Sanhedrin, had not concurred in the Council’s decision to deliver Jesus to Pilate (Luke 23:51). If up to this point he had been a secret disciple, he now threw caution to the wind. Boldly he went to Pilate and requested permission to bury his Lord. We must try to imagine the surprise to Pilate, and the provocation to the Jews, that a member of the Sanhedrin would publicly take his stand for the Crucified. In a real sense Joseph buried himself economically, socially, and religiously when he buried the body of Jesus. This act separated him forever from the establishment that killed the Lord Jesus.

27:59, 60 Pilate granted permission and Joseph lovingly embalmed the body by wrapping it in a clean linen cloth, placing spices between the wrappings. Then he placed it in his own new tomb, carved out of solid rock. The mouth of the tomb was closed by a large stone, shaped like a millstone and standing on its edge in a channel also carved out of stone.

Centuries before, Isaiah had predicted, “And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death” (53:9). His enemies had doubtless planned to throw His body into the Valley of Hinnom to be consumed by dump-fires or eaten by foxes. But God overruled their plans and used Joseph to insure that He was buried with the rich.

27:61 After Joseph had departed, Mary Magdalene and the mother of James and Joses stayed to keep vigil opposite the tomb.

U. The Guarded Tomb (27:62–66)

27:62–64 The first day of the Passover, called the Day of Preparation, was the day of the crucifixion. The next day the chief priests and Pharisees were uneasy. Remembering what Jesus had said about rising again, they went to Pilate and asked for a special guard to be placed at the tomb. This was allegedly to prevent His disciples from stealing the body, thus creating the impression that He had risen. Should this happen, they feared, the last deception would be worse than the first; that is, the report concerning His resurrection would be worse than His claim to be the Messiah and the Son of God.

27:65, 66 Pilate answered, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” This may mean that a Roman guard had already been assigned to them. Or it may mean “Your request is granted. I now assign a guard to you.” Was there irony in Pilate’s voice as he said “as secure as you know how?” They did their best. They sealed the stone and stationed guards, but their best security measures were just not good enough. Unger says:

The precautions His enemies took to “make the sepulchre sure, sealing it and stationing a guard,” 62–64, only resulted in God’s overruling the plans of the wicked and offering indisputable proof of the King’s resurrection.54

XV. THE KING’S TRIUMPH (Chap. 28)†

A. The Empty Tomb and the Risen Lord (28:1–10)

28:1–4 Before dawn on Sunday morning the two Marys came to see the tomb. As they arrived there was a great earthquake. An angel … descended from heaven, rolled back the stone from the mouth of the tomb, and sat on it. The Roman guards, terrified by this radiant being clothed in glistening white, fainted.

28:5, 6 The angel reassured the women that there was nothing for them to fear. The One they sought had risen, as He had promised. “Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” The stone had been rolled away, not to let the Lord out, but to let the women see that He had risen.

28:7–10 The angel then deputized the women to go quickly to announce the glorious news to His disciples. The Lord was alive again and would meet them in Galilee. After delivering the message, they returned to the empty tomb. It was then that Jesus Himself appeared to them, greeting them with a single word, “Rejoice!”55 They responded by falling at His feet and worshiping Him. He then personally commissioned them to notify the disciples that they would see Him in Galilee.

B. The Soldiers Bribed to Lie (28:11–15)

28:11 As soon as they regained consciousness, some of the soldiers sheepishly went to the chief priests to break the news. They had failed in their mission! The tomb was empty!

28:12, 13 It is easy to imagine the consternation of the religious leaders. The priests held a conclave with the elders to map out their strategy. In desperation, they bribed the soldiers to tell the fantastic yarn that while the soldiers slept, the disciples stole the body of Jesus.

This explanation raises more questions than it answers. Why were the soldiers sleeping when they should have been on guard? How could the disciples have rolled the stone away without waking them? How could all the soldiers have fallen asleep at the same time? If they were asleep, how did they know that the disciples stole the body? If the story was true, why did the soldiers have to be bribed to tell it? If the disciples had stolen the body, why had they taken time to remove the graveclothes and fold the napkin? (Luke 24:12; John 20:6, 7).

28:14 Actually the soldiers were paid to tell a story incriminating themselves; sleeping on duty was punishable by death under Roman law. So the Jewish leaders had to promise to intervene for them if the story ever got back to the governor’s ears.

The Sanhedrin was learning that while truth is self-verifying, a lie has to be supported by countless other lies.

28:15 Yet the myth persists among many Jews until this day, and among Gentiles as well. And there are other myths. Wilbur Smith summarizes two of them:

1. First of all it has been suggested that the women went to the wrong tomb. Think about this for a moment. Would you miss the tomb of your dearest loved one between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning? Furthermore, this was not a cemetery of Joseph of Arimathea. This was his private garden. No other tombs were there. Now, let’s say there were other tombs, which there weren’t, and suppose the women with their tear-filled eyes stumbled around and got to the wrong tomb. Well, let’s grant that for the women. But hardfisted Simon Peter and John, two fishermen who were not crying, also went to the tomb and found it empty. Do you think they went to the wrong tomb? But more than that, when they got to the tomb and found that it was empty, there was an angel who said, “He is not here. He is risen. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Do you think the angel went to the wrong tomb too? Yet, don’t forget, brainy men have advanced these theories. This is a nonsensical one!

2. Others have suggested that Jesus did not die, but swooned away, and that he was resuscitated somehow in this damp tomb and then came forth. They had a great big stone rolled against this tomb and this was sealed with seals of the Roman government. No man on the inside of that tomb could ever roll back the stone which came down an incline and fitted into a groove. He did not come out of that tomb as an anemic invalid.

The simple truth is that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a well-attested fact of history. He presented Himself alive to His disciples after His passion by many infallible proofs. Think of these specific instances when He appeared to His own:

1. To Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9–11).

2. To the women (Matt. 28:8–10).

3. To Peter (Luke 24:34).

4. To the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–32).

5. To the disciples, except Thomas (John 20:19–25).

6. To the disciples, including Thomas (John 20:26–31).

7. To the seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21).

8. To over 500 believers (1 Cor. 15:7).

9. To James (1 Cor. 15:7).

10. To the disciples on the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:3–12).

One of the great foundation stones, unshakable and unmovable, of our Christian faith, is the historic evidence for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here you and I can stand and do battle for the faith because we have a situation which cannot be contradicted. It can be denied, but it cannot be disproved.56

C. The Great Commission (28:16–20)

28:16, 17 In Galilee the risen Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples at an unnamed mountain. This is the same appearance recorded in Mark 16:15–18 and 1 Corinthians 15:6. What a wonderful reunion! His sufferings were passed forever. Because He lived, they too would live. He stood before them in His glorified body. They worshiped the living, loving Lord—though doubts still lurked in the minds of some.

28:18 Then the Lord explained that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. In one sense, of course, He always had all authority. But here He was speaking of authority as Head of the new creation. Since His death and resurrection, He had authority to give eternal life to all whom God had given to Him (John 17:2). He had always had power as the firstborn of all creation. But now that He had completed the work of redemption, He had authority as the first-born from the dead—“that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Col. 1:15, 18).

28:19, 20 As Head of the new creation, He then issued the Great Commission, containing “standing orders” for all believers during the present phase of the kingdom—the time between the rejection of the King and His Second Advent.

The Commission contains three commands, not suggestions:

1. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” This does not presuppose world conversion. By preaching the gospel, the disciples were to see others become learners or followers of the Savior—from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue.

2. Baptize “them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The responsibility rests on Christ’s messengers to teach baptism and to press it as a command to be obeyed. In believer’s baptism, Christians publicly identify themselves with the Triune Godhead. They acknowledge that God is their Father, that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, and that the Holy Spirit is the One who indwells, empowers, and teaches them. Name in verse 19 is singular. One name or essence, yet three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3. Teach “them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” The Commission goes beyond evangelism; it is not enough to simply make converts and let them fend for themselves. They must be taught to obey the commandments of Christ as found in the NT. The essence of discipleship is becoming like the Master, and this is brought about by systematic teaching of, and submission to, the Word.

Then the Savior added a promise of His presence with His disciples until the consummation of the age. They would not go forth alone or unaided. In all their service and travel, they would know the companionship of the Son of God.

Notice the four “alls” connected with the Great Commission: all authority; all nations; all things; always.

Thus the Gospel closes with commission and comfort from our glorious Lord. Nearly twenty centuries later His words have the same cogency, the same relevance, the same application. The task is still uncompleted.

What are we doing to carry out His last command?

† See Harmony of the Gospels

† See The Resurrection

ENDNOTES

1. (1:1–15) Jehovah is the anglicized form of the Hebrew name Yahweh, traditionally translated “LORD.” Compare the similar situation with Jesus, the anglicized form of Hebrew Yeshua.

2. (4:2, 3) First class condition, using ei with the indicative. It may be paraphrased, “If, and I grant it, You are the Son of God” or “Since You are the Son of God.”

3. (Excursus) A “dispensation” is an administration or stewardship. It describes the methods God uses in dealing with the human race at any particular time in history. The word does not mean a time period per se, but rather the divine program during any age. A similar use is seen when we speak of the Reagan administration, indicating the policies President Reagan followed during his years in office.

4. (5:13) Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, Matthew and Mark, p. 47.

5. (5:22) The critical text (labeled “NU” in NKJV footnotes) omits without a cause, which would rule out even righteous indignation.

6. (5:44–47) The critical (NU) text reads Gentiles for tax collectors.

7. (5:44–47) The majority text (based on the majority of manuscripts) reads friends for brethren.

8. (6:13) Some scholars teach that the doxology is adapted from 1 Chronicles 29:11 for liturgical purposes. This is merely a guess. The traditional Protestant (KJV) form of the prayer is completely defensible.

9. (7:13, 14) Both the critical and majority texts have an exclamatory reading here: “How narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it!” When the oldest manuscripts (usually NU) and the vast bulk of manuscripts (M) agree against the traditional text (TR) they are almost certainly correct. In such cases the KJ tradition has weak textual support.

10. (7:28, 29) Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Critical and Explanatory Commentary on the New Testament, V:50.

11. (8:2) Certain forms of leprosy mentioned in the Bible are not the same as the malady we call Hansen’s disease. For example, in Leviticus, it includes conditions that can infect a house or a garment.

12. (8:16, 17) Arno C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of Matthew, p. 193.

13. (8:28) The NU text reads Gadarenes. The names of the town and of the region may overlap somewhat.

14. (9:16) Gaebelein, Matthew, p. 193.

15. (9:17) W. L. Pettingill, Simple Studies in Matthew, pp. 111, 112.

16. (10:8) The majority of mss. omit “raise the dead” here.

17. (10:21) J. C. Macaulay, Obedient Unto Death: Devotional Studies in John’s Gospel, II:59.

18. (10:41) Arthur T. Pierson, “The Work of Christ for the Believer,” The Ministry of Keswick, First Series, p. 114.

19. (11:27) Alva J. Gospel McClain, The Greatness of the Kingdom, p. 311.

20. (11:30) J. H. Jowett, Quoted in Our Daily Bread.

21. (12:8) E. W. Rogers, Jesus the Christ, pp. 65, 66.

22. (12:19) McClain, Kingdom, p. 283.

23. (12:21) Kleist and Lilly, The New Testament Rendered from the Original Greek with Expanded Notes, p. 45.

24. (12:27) Ella E. Pohle, C. I. Scofield’s Question Box, p. 97.

25. (12:34, 35) Although both critical and majority texts omit “of his heart,” it would nevertheless be understood.

26. (13:13) H. Chester Woodring, Unpublished class notes on Matthew, Emmaus Bible School, 1961.

27. (13:22) G. H. Lang, The Parabolic Teaching of Scripture, p. 68.

28. (13:24–26) Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p. 1145.

29. (13:33) J. H. Brookes, I Am Coming, p. 65.

30. (13:49, 50) Gaebelein, Matthew, p. 302.

31. (14:4, 5) Source unknown.

32. (16:2, 3) Of course, these weather indications are valid for Israel, not North America or Great Britain!

33. (16:7–10) The twelve kophinoi of the 5,000 may have held less than the seven spurides of the 4,000.

34. (16:17, 18) G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to Matthew, p. 211.

35. (16:19) Charles C. Ryrie, ed., The Ryrie Study Bible, New King James Version, p. 1506.

36. (16:20) James S. Stewart, The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ, p. 106.

37. (16:26) Donald Grey Barnhouse, Words Fitly Spoken, p. 53.

38. (18:11) It is omitted by the NU text, but contained in the majority of mss. (M).

39. (20:15) James S. Stewart, A Man in Christ, p. 252.

40. (20:31–34) Gaebelein, Matthew, p. 420.

41. (21:6) J. P. Lange, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, 25 Vols., pagination unknown.

42. (23:9, 10) H. G. Weston, Matthew, the Genesis of the New Testament, p. 110.

43. (23:14) The critical (NU) text omits the second woe.

44. (23:25, 26) The majority text reads unrighteousness (adikia) for self-indulgence (akrasia).

45. (24:29) I. Velikovsky, Earth in Upheaval, p. 136.

46. (24:30) The same Greek word (gē, compare English prefix “geo”) means both “land” and “earth.”

47. (24:34) F. W. Grant, “Matthew,” Numerical Bible, The Gospels, p. 230.

48. (24:36) The NU text adds “nor the Son.”

49. (25:28, 29) Our Lord’s Teachings About Money (tract), pp. 3, 4.

50. (26:64) The Greek singular pronoun su is spelled out for emphasis. The second you is humin (plural), and the third renders the ending on the verb opsesthe.

51. (26:64) R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel, p. 1064.

52. (27:37) If all the quoted parts are put together, it reads “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Another possibility is that each evangelist is complete but quotes different languages, which could have varied.

53. (27:54) In Greek the definite predicate nouns which precede the verb usually lack the article (part of “Colwell’s Rule”).

54. (27:65, 66) Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Handbook, p. 491.

55. (28:7–10) “Rejoice” was the standard Greek greeting; here on Resurrection Morning the literal translation of the NKJV seems most appropriate.

56. (28:15) Wilbur Smith, “In the Study,” Moody Monthly, April 1969.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnhouse, Donald Grey. Words Fitly Spoken. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1969.

Gaebelein, A. C. The Gospel of Matthew. New York: Loizeaux Bros., 1910.

Kelly, William. Lectures on Matthew. New York: Loizeaux Bros., 1911.

Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of Saint Matthew’s Gospel. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1933.

Macaulay, J. C. Behold Your King. Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute, 1982.

Morgan, G. Campbell. The Gospel According to Matthew. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1929.

Pettingill, W. L. Simple Studies in Matthew. Harrisburg: Fred Kelker, 1910.

Tasker, R. V. G. The Gospel According to St. Matthew, TBC. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1961.

Thomas, W. H. Griffith. Outline Studies in Matthew. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1961.

Weston, H. G. Matthew, the Genesis of the New Testament. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, n.d.

Periodicals and Unpublished Material

Smith, Wilbur. “In the Study,” Moody Monthly, April 1969.

Woodring, H. Chester. Class Notes on Matthew, 1961, Emmaus Bible School, Oak Park, IL (now Emmaus Bible College).